Editor-DN
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged a 39-year-old British national with committing a hack-to-trade fraud scheme that netted him nearly $3.75 million in illegal profits.
Robert Westbrook of London was arrested last week and is expected to be extradited to the United States to face charges related to securities fraud, wire fraud and five counts of computer fraud.
According to court documents, Westbrook is believed to have carried out a fraud scheme between January 2019 and May 2020 in which he gained millions by gaining unauthorized access to the Microsoft 365 accounts of corporate executives.
“On at least five occasions, Westbrook gained unauthorized access to Office 365 email accounts belonging to corporate executives to obtain non-public information, including incoming revenue, from certain US-based companies. Information about announcements of,” DoJ said.
The accused then used this information to buy securities and made a profit Selling them in short order Once the details became public knowledge.
“On multiple occasions, Westbrook implemented auto-forwarding rules designed to automatically forward content from compromised email accounts of corporate executives to email accounts controlled by Westbrook,” the DoJ said. Noted.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Westbrook obtained sensitive information from five public companies before at least 14 earnings announcements by resetting the passwords of those executives’ accounts.
“Although Westbrook took a number of steps to conceal his identity — including using anonymous email accounts, VPN services, and bitcoin — the commission’s advanced data analytics, crypto asset tracking, and cutting-edge international hacking technology can also expose fraud in cases of Jorge G. Tenreiro, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit; said.
Westbrook’s securities fraud count carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. A further maximum penalty for wire fraud charges is 20 years in prison and either a $250,000 fine, or twice the crime’s gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Each count of computer fraud carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the crime, whichever is greater.
