Blog

Eight suspects have been charged in New York for their alleged roles in a global cybercrime ring that authorities say involved the theft of more than $45 million from financial institutions in two cyber heists.

The international gang hacked into the computers of bank card processors to steal prepaid debit card data, erase withdrawal limits on the cards and then pass the information to cashers or mules to siphon the money from ATMs around the world.

The gang first struck December 22 when hackers targeted a credit card processor that handled transactions for prepaid MasterCard debit cards issued to customers of the National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah PSC, or RAKBANK, in the United Arab Emirates. They handed off the stolen card data to cashers in 20 countries who withdrew $5 million in cash in more than 4,500 ATM withdrawals.

The eight charged in New York, one of whom is now deceased, were part of a New York cell that was responsible for allegedly siphoning at least $2.8 million from more than 750 Manhattan ATMs in 2.5 hours.

The second round of the operation struck on February 19, beginning around 3pm and continuing until 1:30 the next morning. It targeted another bank card processor that handled transactions for the Bank of Muscat in Oman. Within 10 hours, cashers in 24 countries had made about 36,000 ATM withdrawals totaling about $40 million.

The New York defendants, who are being charged by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, allegedly participated in this one as well, withdrawing about $2.4 million from New York ATMs.

The stolen money was laundered and used to buy cars and other luxury goods.

The defendants are Jael Mejia Collado, Joan Luis Minier Lara, Evan Jose Peña, Jose Familia Reyes, Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, Emir Yasser Yeje, and Chung Yu-Holguin, all of whom are residents of Yonkers, New York. The eighth defendant, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Peña, also known as “Prime” and “Albertico,” was reportedly murdered on April 27 in the Dominican Republic.  All of the living defendants are in their early 20s except one who is 35.

The seven living defendants face various charges for conspiracy to commit access device fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and money laundering. The money laundering charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The conspiracy charges for access device fraud carry a maximum 7.5 years sentence. They also face restitution and up to $250,000 in fines.