International money-laundering gang recruited 15,000 money mules to funnel hackers’ cash
The hackers got paid while the money mules got played.
Money laundering arrest. Image by Cybernews
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- Oleg Korniev pleaded guilty to helping run Your Mule Cashout, an international money-laundering network.
- Prosecutors say the group recruited 15,000 money mules who believed they worked for legitimate companies.
- Korniev admitted responsibility for more than $14.7 million in losses tied to cybercriminal proceeds.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
A Ukrainian-Russian citizen has pleaded guilty to running a sophisticated international money laundering organization.
The criminal organization, called Your Mule Cashout (YMCO), laundered millions of dollars that were stolen by cybercriminals from victims across the United States and around the world.
According to court documents, 42-year-old Oleg Korniev was one of the key players in the criminal empire that operated an “elaborate and sophisticated system of money mules,” providing a service for hackers seeking to conceal their illicit proceeds from cyberattacks in countries outside the US.
By offering YMCO a piece of the pie, the organization would move the stolen money to Eastern European countries.
The money mules that YMCO recruited were US citizens who genuinely believed that they were working for legitimate companies and making genuine money transfers. Instead, they transferred the hackers’ stolen proceeds to fake companies overseas to other YMCO conspirators.
To make things worse, the money mules never received any payment for their work. Korniev worked for YMCO, hiring, firing, and rewarding employees based on their performance.
Korniev has admitted that he was responsible for over $14.7 million in losses. He intended to launder approximately $9.7 million from cybercriminals, but only laundered $7 million.
Allegedly, YMCO also ran similar schemes in Australia, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, processing more than $10 million stolen by cybercriminals from over 750 US bank accounts.
The Ukrainian-Russian national has pleaded guilty to money laundering, computer fraud, access device theft, and aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is set for a later date. If found guilty, he faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.
“Money mules play crucial roles in cybercrime, so the Justice Department pursues mules and their recruiters wherever they operate and however long it takes,” Assistant Attorney General Andrew Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.
“Alongside our international partners, we will dismantle criminal networks that attack Americans. No amount of distance or time puts these criminals beyond the reach of justice,” he continued.
