Eight Charged in Financial, Payroll Hacking Scheme

U.S. prosecutors in New Jersey have announced charges against eight alleged members of an international cybercrime ring they say hacked into the computers of more than a dozen leading financial institutions and the U.S. military's payroll service.

Prosecutors say the scheme to steal millions of dollars from customer accounts was led by Oleksiy Sharapka of Kiev, Ukraine. He was deported from the U.S. in 2012 after serving time in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman says those arrested include key associates in New York, Massachusetts and Georgia accused of using stolen identities to try to cash out the hacked accounts.

The government says financial institutions whose computer networks were hacked include Automated Data Processing Inc., PayPal, Morgan Chase Bank, Citibank, TD Ameritrade and the payroll arm of the U.S. Department of Defense.

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