Authorities all over the world are tracking two Russian nationals they say are responsible for what one prosecutor called, "one of the most outrageous cyber crimes in U.S. history," and it's a scheme that reached into Nebraska.
The Department of Justice unsealed documents Thursday showing two Nebraska banks and one private business were among the targets in the elaborate scheme in which the two suspects allegedly made off with millions of dollars.
In Washington D.C. Thursday the U.S. Attorney for Nebraska Joseph Kelly said of the three Nebraska targets two averted losses. The third lost over $150,000 dollars.
In charges unsealed Thursday, the pair known as “Evil Corp” are accused of conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud and bank fraud for installing malware on victims computers to steal banking information.
“The methodology was similar each time,” Kelly says. "Infect the business computer, obtain bank account numbers and security codes and initiate electronic funds transfers to money mules overseas.”
First National Bank of Omaha was lost more than $150,000. In a statement the bank said “These indictments are related to crimes committed in 2009. The bank’s losses at that time were minimal and no customers experienced losses.”
The other two listed are Union Bank and Trust in Lincoln and Husker Ag, an ethanol producer out of Plainview, in northeast Nebraska.