NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- A Russian national living in the United States has been charged with stealing $1 million by hacking into stockbroker's accounts, federal prosecutors say.
Petr Murmylyuk, who also uses the name Dmitry Tokar, 31, of New York, was charged in a complaint Tuesday with wire fraud, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman said. Murmylyuk is already in federal custody in New York.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil action against him as well.
Investigators said Murmylyuk and his confederates gained access to online accounts at brokerages like Charles Schwab and Scottrade and changed e-mail addresses and phone numbers on the accounts so the holders would not be notified of trades. They then created accounts at other brokerages using stolen identities and carried out trades that benefited those accounts like having one of the hacked accounts sell options for a low price and buy them back within minutes for a much higher price.
Murmylyuk was arrested in November in Brooklyn, where he was living.
