Three Romanians Face Laundry List of Charges
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 12/21/2016 09:04 AM
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A federal indictment was unsealed accusing three Romanian nationals with 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud and identity theft.
The Department of Justice says the group were responsible for infecting more than 60,000 computers, sent out over 11 million fraudulent emails and stolen at least $4 million. However, Symantec is reporting that the numbers are much larger. They say the group stole as much as $35 million and infected as many as 160,000 machines.
The group was under investigation by law enforcement along with Symantec for eight years. The result is a laundry list of charges including general conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit service marks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, five counts of aggravated identity theft and 12 counts of wire fraud.
The three charges are Bogdan Nicolescu, 34 (aka Masterfraud), Tiberiu Danet, 31 (aka Amightysa), and Radu Miclaus, 34 (aka Minolta). The arrests took place in Bucharest.
The group allegedly used the processing power of 300,000 computers to create a botnet capable of cryptocurrency mining.
“This case illustrates the sophistication and determination with which cyber criminals seek to harm Americans and American businesses from abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “But our response demonstrates that, with effective international cooperation, we can track these criminals down and make sure they face justice, no matter where or how they try to hide.”
“These defendants stole millions of dollars from people in the United States through a sophisticated fraud conspiracy they operated in Eastern Europe,” said U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon. “Cybercrime is an ever-growing threat. We will continue to work with both our partners in law enforcement and in the private sector to evolve with the threat and protect our networks and national security.”
“This indictment and subsequent arrests reveal the dynamic landscape in which international criminals utilize sophisticated cyber methods to take advantage of and defraud unsuspecting victims,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony. “Despite the complexity and global character of these investigations, these arrests demonstrate the commitment by the FBI and our partners to aggressively pursue these individuals and bring justice to the victims.”
"Our investigation required time and patience," Symantec stated in its blog post. "In one case, we observed the gang's malicious activities for a year and a half before it made an error that exposed one of its suspected members. Over time we came to understand the group's infrastructure which helped us to get see more of the gang's operations."
Source: SCMagazine
The Department of Justice says the group were responsible for infecting more than 60,000 computers, sent out over 11 million fraudulent emails and stolen at least $4 million. However, Symantec is reporting that the numbers are much larger. They say the group stole as much as $35 million and infected as many as 160,000 machines.
The group was under investigation by law enforcement along with Symantec for eight years. The result is a laundry list of charges including general conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit service marks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, five counts of aggravated identity theft and 12 counts of wire fraud.
The three charges are Bogdan Nicolescu, 34 (aka Masterfraud), Tiberiu Danet, 31 (aka Amightysa), and Radu Miclaus, 34 (aka Minolta). The arrests took place in Bucharest.
The group allegedly used the processing power of 300,000 computers to create a botnet capable of cryptocurrency mining.
“This case illustrates the sophistication and determination with which cyber criminals seek to harm Americans and American businesses from abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “But our response demonstrates that, with effective international cooperation, we can track these criminals down and make sure they face justice, no matter where or how they try to hide.”
“These defendants stole millions of dollars from people in the United States through a sophisticated fraud conspiracy they operated in Eastern Europe,” said U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon. “Cybercrime is an ever-growing threat. We will continue to work with both our partners in law enforcement and in the private sector to evolve with the threat and protect our networks and national security.”
“This indictment and subsequent arrests reveal the dynamic landscape in which international criminals utilize sophisticated cyber methods to take advantage of and defraud unsuspecting victims,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony. “Despite the complexity and global character of these investigations, these arrests demonstrate the commitment by the FBI and our partners to aggressively pursue these individuals and bring justice to the victims.”
"Our investigation required time and patience," Symantec stated in its blog post. "In one case, we observed the gang's malicious activities for a year and a half before it made an error that exposed one of its suspected members. Over time we came to understand the group's infrastructure which helped us to get see more of the gang's operations."
Source: SCMagazine
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