Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27, was charged with one count of conspiracy to "intentionally cause damage to a protected computer," according to a Department of Justice (DoJ) press release. He was arrested in Los Angeles and made his first initial appearance in federal court on Monday.
The complaint and statements made in court claim that Kriuchkov conspired with associates from around July 15, 2020 to August 22, 2020 to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malware into the company's computer network.
The malware would have allegedly allowed Kriuchkov and his co-conspirators to access the computer system and extract data from the network. Kriuchkov and his co-conspirators planned to threaten to release the data publicly unless the company paid their ransom demand.
Kriuchkov entered the US using a Russian passport and a tourist visa. He also met with the employee numerous times to discuss the conspiracy and said he would pay the employee $1 million after the malware was introduced into the company's computer network. Kriuchkov also gave the employee a burner phone and told him to leave the phone in airplane mode until after the money was transferred.
"After being contacted by the FBI, Kriuchkov drove overnight from Reno, Nevada, to Los Angeles. Kriuchkov asked an acquaintance to purchase an airline ticket for him in an attempt to fly out of the country," the release states.
