U.S. Says Russian Suspect in LinkedIn Hack Tried to Escape

(Bloomberg) -- A Russian citizen accused of hacking LinkedIn and Dropbox was supposed to have a bail hearing Wednesday before a U.S. judge, but plans went sideways after prosecutors said he tried to escape.

Yevgeniy Nikulin, 30, appeared in San Francisco federal court wearing shackles after being extradited last week from the Czech Republic over objections from Russian officials who sought him on separate charges.

Nikulin had been ordered March 30 to undergo a medical evaluation. Marshals who supervised him in custody described his behavior as defiant, including physical confrontation and an attempt to escape, a prosecutor said in court Wednesday.

The Russian was indicted on multiple counts of computer-enabled fraud and identity theft stemming from cyber-attacks on LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, a San Francisco-based social networking company, in 2012 and 2013. He faces a lengthy prison term if convicted.

His public defender told the judge that “an innocent defendant has the right to be treated with respect and dignity.” Nikulin's bail hearing was postponed until later this month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kartikay Mehrotra in San Francisco at kmehrotra2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg, Paul Cox

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