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International sting nabs two men in Wisconsin for alleged computer virus scheme
[November 05, 2010]

International sting nabs two men in Wisconsin for alleged computer virus scheme


Nov 05, 2010 (The Wisconsin State Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Two Moldovan men who allegedly took part in a complex scheme to siphon millions of dollars out of American bank accounts were arrested Wednesday in Wisconsin and are to be shipped to New York to face charges.



Dorin Codreanu and Lilian Adam appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Madison where they agreed to be sent back to New York City to face charges stemming from the use of computer viruses to raid bank accounts through the Internet.

Thirty-seven people from Eastern Europe, including Codreanu and Adam, were charged in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Sept. 30 for the scheme that led to the theft of about $3 million, mostly from small business and municipality accounts.


Codreanu and Adam are each charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Adam is also charged with conspiracy to possess false identification.

It is not clear what Codreanu and Adam, both 21, were doing in Wisconsin. Details about their arrests were not available from the U.S. Attorney's Offices in Madison and Manhattan or from the FBI.

According to complaints filed in federal court in Manhattan, Codreanu and Adam took part in a scheme that began with cyber attacks originating in Eastern Europe, many using malicious software know as the "Zeus Trojan" that was sent by e-mail to millions of computers at homes, businesses and municipalities in the U.S.

Once the e-mail was opened, the complaints state, the malware embedded itself in the computers and recorded keystrokes, including account numbers and passwords, as users logged into online bank accounts. Hackers used that information to take over the accounts and transfer money to other accounts.

So-called "money mule" organizations controlled those accounts and transferred the stolen money overseas.

According to the complaints, people who entered the U.S. on student visas were recruited to be money mules and were given fake foreign passports and instructions to open bank accounts under false names in American banks.

According to the complaint, Codreanu and Adam both worked as money mules, while Codreanu also recruited other mules.

To see more of The Wisconsin State Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Wisconsin State Journal Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544).

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