3 Charged for Largest Theft of Consumer Data From U.S. Financial Institution in History

Two Israelis and an American have been charged for multiple crimes in a case involving massive network intrusions at U.S. financial institutions, U.S. brokerage firms, major news publications, and other companies.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch was joined by law enforcement officials in announcing the charges against Gery Shalon, aka “Garri Shalelashvili,” “Gabriel,” “Gabi,” “Phillipe Mousset” and “Christopher Engeham,” Joshua Samuel Aaron, aka “Mike Shields,” and Ziv Orenstein, aka “Aviv Stein” and “John Avery.”

Shalon was charged with orchestrating a massive computer hacking organization conducting crimes against U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms and financial news publishers, including the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history. Shalon was charged along with Aaron in furtherance of securities market manipulation schemes that Shalon and Aaron perpetrated with Orenstein.

Shalon also allegedly orchestrated computer network hacks and cyberattacks related to other major criminal schemes, including unlawful internet casinos and illicit payment processors, which he operated with Orenstein.

In July 2015 the Israel Police arrested Shalon and Orenstein on an indictment that charged the underlying securities fraud. The pair have been in custody since that time, pending extradition to the U.S, where the pair will face trial on the charges announced in the superseding indictment.

Additionally, Shalon owned and controlled an illegal U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange known as Coin.mx. In a separate charge released at the same time of the indictment, Anthony R. Murgio was charged with operating Coin.mx in the U.S. and for related crimes.

 “As set forth in the indictment, these three defendants perpetrated one of the largest thefts of financial-related data in history – making off with the sensitive information of literally thousands of hard-working Americans,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “These charges were made possible in large part because those victims came forward and worked with the Department of Justice to hold the perpetrators accountable.  In an age when enormous quantities of vital information are stored in digital format on potentially vulnerable Internet-connected devices, public-private partnerships and information-sharing are more critical than ever.  The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the financial data of all our citizens and the financial integrity of our institutions.  I’d like to thank the prosecutors and law enforcement professionals who worked tirelessly on this case, and the victims who offered their full cooperation with law enforcement to make these criminal charges possible.”