Two Belarus men charged with receiving $1.35 million in phishing scheme
RFE/RL based on reporting by AP 11 May 2016, 10:40
Federal authorities in Pittsburgh say two men have been charged by authorities in Belarus with receiving $1.35 million stolen in a phishing scheme from the bank account of a Pennsylvania oil and gas drilling company.
U.S. Attorney David Hickton says 34-year-old Aleskey Yaroshevich and 41-year-old Egor Pavlenko are in police custody in their home town of Minsk.
Hickton's office last year charged Andrey Ghinkul, who's from Moldova, with running a scheme to infect computers worldwide with Bugat malware.
The computer bug infected computers owned by Penneco Oil Co. Inc. in Delmont, just outside Pittsburgh, and enabled the conspirators to hack the company's bank accounts for $3.5 million.
Hickton says the Minsk men received a $1.35 million transfer made in September 2012.
