Ukrainian Hacker Sentenced to Jail in US for Role in Massive Fraud Scheme

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Ukrainian citizen Vadym Iermolovych was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the largest known computer hacking and securities fraud scheme, US Department of Justice announced in a press release Monday.

"A Ukrainian hacker was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in an international scheme to hack into three business newswires, steal yet-to-be published press releases containing non-public financial information, and use that information to make trades that generated approximately $30 million in illegal profits," Acting US Attorney William Fitzpatrick said in the release.

According to the press release, Iermolovych, 29, a citizen of Kiev, Ukraine, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, and aggravated identity theft.

Iermolovych admitted to hacking into three business wires Marketwired L.P, PR Newswire Association, and Business Wire, to gain access and then sell stolen press releases, the Justice Department stated.

Five other members of the conspiracy, including two computer hackers and three securities traders, were charged as well, the release noted. The indictment charged Ivan Turchynov, Oleksandr Ieremenko, and Pavel Dubovoy, all of Ukraine, as well as Arkadiy Dubovoy, and Igor Dubovoy, both of Alpharetta, Georgia.

In addition to a prison sentence, Iermolovych was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution.