A Ukrainian involved in a scheme that netted millions after hacking into an Atlanta payment processor was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.
Evgeny Tarasovich Levitskyy, 31, acted as one of the "cashers" who withdrew more than $9 million from 2,100 ATMs around the globe in less than 12 hours, according to the FBI. He is also known as Vinchenco, Vinch, and M.U.R.D.E.R.E.R., according to the FBI.
In late 2008, a team of hackers stole the account information from RBS WorldPay, the Royal Bank of Scotland’s processing center in Atlanta. The unit handled payroll debit cards that allowed workers to collect pay at ATM machines, according to investigators.
After boosting limits in the accounts to more than $1,000,000, the the hackers worked with a team of cashers stationed around the world, from the United States to Russia, to quickly withdraw cash using 44 counterfeit debit cards.
“Cyber crime and computer intrusions are no longer executed by lone individuals. Instead, they rely upon a complex online and real world ecosystem of criminal goods and services for hire, such as the cashing service operated by Mr. Levitskyy,” said David J. LeValley, with the FBI office in Atlanta.
Altogether, the international hacking crew stole information on 45.5 million payroll and gift cards from RBS WorldPay, according to U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta.
Investigators said the cashers kept 30-50 percent of the money and forwarded the rest to the hacking team, led by Estonian national Sergei Tšurikov. He and 13 other individuals from Russian, Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Nigeria, and the United States have been charged with involvement in the scheme.
Tšurikov was extradited from Estonia in 2014 and sentenced to 11 years in prison and to pay $8.4 million in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.
Levitskyy allegedly stole nearly $500,000 in the scheme. He was extradited from the Czech Republic last year. He was sentenced last week to 46 months in prison and to pay restitution of $499,519.
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