Ukrainian Andrii Kolpakov was sentenced in the United States to seven years in prison for participating in a cybercriminal group. In addition, as compensation for the damage caused, he must pay $2.5 million, Voice of America reports.
According to the investigation, the 33-year-old Kolpakov was involved in the data theft from credit and debit cards in the United States and was involved in coordinating the actions of other cybercriminals.
At the trial, the Ukrainian pleaded guilty to two charge counts (conspiracy to commit fraud using electronic means and conspiracy to hack into computers).
Kolpakov was arrested in Spain in 2018 along with two other Ukrainians and charged with participation in the FIN7 cyber group (Carbanak).
In 2019, another Ukrainian citizen, a member of the same group, Fyodor Gladyr, pleaded guilty to a federal court in Seattle, US, on charges of committing cyberattacks and fraud in exchange for dropping the rest of the charges.
According to the investigation, the group sent emails with malicious software to hotels, casinos, and restaurants. This allowed hackers to gain access to financial information of the establishments. It was then used for personal gain.
"In the US alone, FIN7 gained access to computer networks in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, stealing more than 20 million user card records from more than 6,500 point-of-sale terminals of 3,600 businesses," the US Department of Justice reported.
In total, hackers are accused of inflicting damages in the amount of more than $1 billion.
Kolpakov's lawyer said that his client is disappointed with the verdict, but respects the judge's decision.
According to him, Kolpakov, who has already spent three years in custody, plans to return to Ukraine after serving his sentence.
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