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Computer Hacking Scheme Exposed in Massachusetts
A New York City man has been charged with conspiring to engage in computer hacking, credit card trafficking, and money laundering, according to a recent indictment in Boston. Vitalii Antonenko, 28, faces one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computer networks and to traffic in unauthorized access devices, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege that Antonenko and his co-conspirators scoured the internet for computer networks with security vulnerabilities that contained credit and debit card account numbers, expiration dates, and card verification values (Payment Card Data) and other personally identifiable information (PII). They used a hacking technique known as a "SQL injection attack" to access those networks without authorization, extracted Payment Card Data and other PII, and transferred it for sale on online criminal marketplaces.
Once a co-conspirator sold the data, Antonenko and others used Bitcoin as well as traditional bank and cash transactions to launder the proceeds in order to disguise their nature, location, source, ownership, and control. The indictment alleges that hundreds of thousands of stolen payment card numbers were involved in the scheme.
Antonenko was previously arrested in March 2019 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after he arrived there from Ukraine carrying computers and other digital media that held the stolen payment card numbers. He is facing a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, restitution and forfeiture for the computer hacking conspiracy charge.
The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, restitution and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Frederick J. Regan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto of Lelling’s Cybercrime Unit is prosecuting the case. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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