Tech
Ukrainian man pleads guilty to running AI-powered fake ID site
A Ukrainian man has pleaded guilty to operating OnlyFake, an AI-powered website that generated and sold more than 10,000 photos of fake identification documents to customers worldwide.
27-year-old Yurii Nazarenko (also known as “John Wick,” “Tor Ford,” and “Uriel Septimberus”) admitted that his OnlyFake subscription-based platform used artificial intelligence to generate realistic-looking counterfeit passports, driver’s licenses, and Social Security cards.
“We rely on government issued IDs to combat terrorism, hijackings, fraud, money laundering, and a host of other crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on Thursday. “OnlyFake’s manufacture of fraudulent IDs and other documents puts us all at risk and must be stopped.”
According to the indictment, Nazarenko’s OnlyFake platform allowed customers to generate fake digital versions of U.S. driver’s licenses for all 50 states and U.S. passports and passport cards, as well as digital versions of identification documents for roughly 56 other countries.
Customers could also customize the fake digital documents with personal details, opt for randomized information, and choose whether the finished product appeared as a scan or a tabletop photograph.
New York federal prosecutors said that the primary use of these fake digital documents was to circumvent Know Your Customer (KYC) verification requirements at banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, which are safeguards designed to prevent money laundering mandated under the Patriot Act.
Undercover FBI agents made multiple purchases from the OnlyFake website between May and June 2024, obtaining fake New York state IDs, U.S. passports, and a Social Security card.
OnlyFake only accepted cryptocurrency payments, and also offered bulk packages of up to 1,000 fake documents at a discount. Nazarenko further attempted to cover his tracks by routing cryptocurrency payments through multiple wallets and deleting emails after 404 Media reported on the site in February 2024.
“Yurii Nazarenko developed a website to produce more than 10,000 fake identification documents, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from these illicit sales,” added FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “This platform offered its clients a myriad of criminal opportunities, including bypassing traditional regulations to launder money.”
Nazarenko was extradited from Romania in September 2025 and has agreed to forfeit $1.2 million. He is now facing a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on June 26, 2026.
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