Vyacheslav Khaimov pled guilty at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, yesterday to the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with his role in an international cybercrime operation.
The plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
According to court filings, the scheme involved sophisticated malware, which co-conspirators used to obtain unlawful access to victims’ bank accounts – most of which were in U.S. banks. The illegally obtained funds were then transferred via wire to the bank accounts of a network of individuals within the United States who, in turn, further transmitted the money, or portions of the money, either to additional U.S.-based intermediaries or directly overseas. As part of this scheme, Brooklyn-based Khaimov received over $230,000 in funds fraudulently withdrawn from the bank accounts of at least eight bank account takeover victims via wire transfers and cashier’s checks from a network of intermediary “mules.” To date, the FBI has identified over $1.2 million in losses attributable to the malware scheme and more than $6 million in attempted losses.
The Defendant:
VYACHESLAV KHAIMOV
Age: 55
Brooklyn, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-25 (ERK)
SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York