A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison after using stolen information to hack into financial accounts and attempt to steal more than $15 million.
Lamar Taylor, 38, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud and identity theft in a Trenton, N.J. court, according to the Department of Justice press release. He allegedly coordinated with an international cybercrime group to “cash out” bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards in other peoples' names.
The group accessed bank accounts at financial institutions and businesses around the world, which included Citibank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Nordstrom Bank, PayPal and the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
Once inside the accounts, two of Taylor's co-conspirators took money out and put it into the group's own bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards. Taylor and others would then withdraw the stolen money from ATMS and make fraudulent purchases.
Taylor admitted to the creation of these fraudulent accounts and cards without the consent of the individuals whose names were used. He also admitted to opening bank accounts in the names of identity theft victims, as well as using ATM and bank withdrawals to receive stolen funds, which he'd later pass along to higher-ups in the group.
Two of the group's leaders, Oleksiy Sharapka and Leonid Yanovitsky, are based in Ukraine and received payouts from the U.S. members.
In addition to his prison sentence, Taylor will have to pay a restitution of $338,649.
