Five More Charged In International Cybercrime Ring Heist

Five More Charged In International Cybercrime Ring Heist

Another five people were arrested with respect to an international cybercrime ring that stole $45 million from different banks around the world. The five people were added to the eight people indicted for their participation in a scheme that stole thousand of ATMs through fake magnetic strip cards. One of the original defendants was killed last April in the Dominican Republic.

Prosecutors said the international cybercrime ring was able to make over 40,500 withdrawals using stolen data in 27 countries last December and February. The withdrawal limits were removed by the defendants from the accounts during the crime spree. They made use of expired credit cards and old hotel keys to steal from the ATMs.

One of the defendants was caught on surveillance cameras supposedly moving from one ATM to another as his backpack started to become filled up with cash. The other defendants took pictures of themselves with bundles of cash while going around Manhattan.

The latest defendants to be charged were Jose Angeley Valerio, Saul Franjul, Jaindhi Polanco, Saul Genao, and Antony Diaz. Prosecutors revealed that photographic evidence showed the men bringing $800,000 in cash from the theft to their ringleader.

A statement from US Attorney General Loretta Lynch indicated that the defendants were able to exploit the flaws in the financial system to take millions of dollars from ATMS. The stolen cash were brought to the ringleader of the international cybercrime ring. The statement added that the authorities will not give up until everyone responsible for the crime is placed behind bars.

Prosecutors indicated that another defendant, Franklyn Ferreira, is currently a fugitive from justice. The latest defendants in the international cybercrime ring will face jail time along with fines if they are convicted.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday November 20 2013, 3:59 AM EST. Ref: CNET. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0