NJ Busts International Multi-Million Dollar Cybercrime Scheme

Eight alleged members of an international cybercrime, money laundering and identity theft conspiracy are federally charged in New Jersey 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. The announcement comes today from U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

“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,” says 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.”

The eight defendants are charged together in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit identity theft.

“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,” vows Fishman.