NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Tsastsin, 35, allegedly installed malware on millions of computers worldwide to fraudulently drive Internet traffic to websites that would earn him money, according to court documents.
“Vladimir Tsastsin has admitted to his role in a massive cyberhack and fraud scheme that infected millions of computers in over one hundred countries and netted Tsastsin and his co-conspirators over $14 million,” Bharara said.
As a result, Tsastsin and his co-conspirators earned at least $14 million through a scheme known as “click-jacking.”
"The defendants fraudulently increased the traffic to the websites and advertisements that would earn them money and made it appear to advertisers that the Internet traffic came from legitimate clicks and ad displays,” the US attorney’s office stated.
Tsastsin pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of computer intrusion conspiracy, which carry maximum sentences of 20 and 5 years in prison respectively.
