Eight charged in New Jersey with conspiracy to commit cyberattacks on financial institutions and government sites, to commit money laundering and identity theft.
The group are charged with a scheme to use information hacked from customer accounts held at more than a dozen banks, brokerage firms, payroll processing companies and government agencies in an attempt to steal at least $15 million from U.S. customers
Allegedly, Oleksiy Sharapka, 33, of Kiev, Ukraine, directed the conspiracy with the help of Leonid Yanovitsky, 38, also of Kiev.
Oleg Pidtergerya, 49, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Robert Dubuc, 40, of Malden, Mass.; and Andrey Yarmolitskiy, 41, of Atlanta, managed crews in their respective cities. Richard Gundersen, 46, of Brooklyn, and Lamar Taylor, 37, of Salem, Mass, worked for Pidtergerya and Dubuc, respectively. Ilya Ostapyuk, 31, of Brooklyn, allegedly facilitated the movement of fraud proceeds.
"According to the complaint unsealed today, cybercriminals penetrated some of our most trusted financial institutions as part of a global scheme that stole money and identities from people in the United States," said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
"Today's charges and arrests take out key members of the organization, including leaders of crews in three states that used those stolen identities to 'cash out' hacked accounts in a series of internationally coordinated modern-day bank robberies. We will continue to pursue our investigation into this scheme and our fight against the rising threat of criminals for whom computers are the weapon of choice."
Allegedly, Oleksiy Sharapka, 33, of Kiev, Ukraine, directed the conspiracy with the help of Leonid Yanovitsky, 38, also of Kiev.
Oleg Pidtergerya, 49, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Robert Dubuc, 40, of Malden, Mass.; and Andrey Yarmolitskiy, 41, of Atlanta, managed crews in their respective cities. Richard Gundersen, 46, of Brooklyn, and Lamar Taylor, 37, of Salem, Mass, worked for Pidtergerya and Dubuc, respectively. Ilya Ostapyuk, 31, of Brooklyn, allegedly facilitated the movement of fraud proceeds.
"According to the complaint unsealed today, cybercriminals penetrated some of our most trusted financial institutions as part of a global scheme that stole money and identities from people in the United States," said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
"Today's charges and arrests take out key members of the organization, including leaders of crews in three states that used those stolen identities to 'cash out' hacked accounts in a series of internationally coordinated modern-day bank robberies. We will continue to pursue our investigation into this scheme and our fight against the rising threat of criminals for whom computers are the weapon of choice."
