New York Man Gets 7-1/2 Years in Prison for Cybercrime Scheme

A New York man was sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison on Tuesday for his role in a cybercrime and identity theft scheme that hacked into accounts at banks, brokerages and government agencies in a bid to steal more than $15 million, authorities said.

Oleg Pidtergerya, 50, of Brooklyn had previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, identity theft and conspiracy to commit so-called access device fraud in federal court in New Jersey.

A co-defendant, Robert Dubuc, pleaded guilty to the same charges but received only 21 months in prison when he was sentenced in October.

Prosecutors said the pair were members of a cybercrime ring led by Oleksiy Sharapka and Leonid Yanovitsky of Kiev, Ukraine, who have also been indicted but remain at large.

The group hacked into accounts in 2012 and 2013 at global banks and other institutions, including Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, the U.S. Department of Defense, PayPal and others, and diverted funds into accounts and debit cards they controlled, prosecutors said.

The group then used "cash out" crews to tap the stolen funds by withdrawing cash from ATMS and making fraudulent purchases, according to prosecutors. Dubuc operated a crew out of Massachusetts, while Pidtergerya led one in New York, the government said.