Two Hackers Plead Guilty in $15 Million Cybercrime Operation

Two American hackers have admitted to have stolen some $15 million, before a New Jersey court, authorities say. Robert Dubuc, 40, of Malden, Massachusetts, and Oleg Pidtergerya, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to commit access device fraud and identity theft before U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan in Trenton federal court. 

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in a statement said that both the men had been involved in a campaign to “cash out” bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards opened in the names of others. 

He said The hackers tapped into accounts in 2012 and 2013 at global financial businesses and institutions – Citibank N.A., JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A., PayPal, TD Ameritrade, the U.S. Department of Defense, TIAA-CREF and others – and diverted money to accounts and debit cards they controlled, Fishman said. They then employed “cash out” operations, using people who would withdraw the stolen funds at ATMs and with fraudulent purchases in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia and elsewhere. 

Wire fraud conspiracy carries a potential sentence of 20 years in prison, while the other two charges each carry the possibility of five years in prison, as well as heavy fines. 

Sentencing was scheduled for July 7 for Pidtergerya and July 8 for Dubuc. The investigation was carried out by US Federal Agencies.