The U.S. Justice Department has announced the indictments of 36 people in a global cyberidentity fraud scheme that it says caused more than $530 million in losses to consumers, businesses, and financial institutions.
In a statement released on February 7, the Justice Department said federal and international law enforcement authorities arrested 13 defendants from the United States and 23 from Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Kosovo, and Serbia.
The 36 individuals were charged for their alleged involvement in an "Internet-based cybercriminal enterprise engaged in the large-scale acquisition, sale, and dissemination of stolen identities, compromised debit and credit cards, personally identifiable information, financial and banking information, computer malware, and other contraband," the statement said.
"Today’s indictment and arrests mark one of the largest cyberfraud enterprise prosecutions ever undertaken by the Department of Justice," said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan.
Cronan said the group intended to cause losses amounting to more than $2.2 billion.