A Russian man has pleaded guilty to taking part in a massive computer hacking campaign targeting JPMorgan Chase and other US banks, brokerage firms and financial news publishers.
Andrei Tyurin faces a lengthy prison term after pleading guilty in Manhattan federal court to computer intrusion, wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal online gambling offenses. He will be sentenced early next year.
Tyurin and his partners stole the personal information of more than 100 million customers of victim companies. The biggest hit saw the data of 83 million JPMorgan Chase clients taken in 2014.
The stolen data was then used to operate a Pump-and Dump' scheme, in which Tyurin and co-conspirators contacted data theft victims to offer bogus investment advice and stock recommendations. The scam made the crooks tens of millions of dollars.
Tyurin was indicted by a federal grand jury in late 2017 before being arrested in Georgia in 2018 and extradited to face charges in a New York.
He is the first person to be convicted in the case, with charges against three other men - including alleged ringleader Gery Shalon - pending.
Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S Berman says: "With today’s plea, Tyurin’s global reign of computer intrusion is over and he faces significant time in a US prison for his crimes."