Russian national charged in $1 million securities fraud
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Russian national charged in $1 million securities fraud 20 April 2012Newark Reporter: Georgina Lavers
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Petr Murmylyuk has been charged for his alleged role in a ring that stole $1 million by hacking into retail brokerage accounts and carrying out false trades.
The Russian national living in New York, who operated under the alias 'Dmitry Tokar,' worked with a group who hacked into online trading accounts at Scottrade, Fidelity, and other brokerage firms. Members of the ring first gained unauthorized access to the online accounts and changed the phone numbers and e-mail addresses on file to prevent notice of unauthorized trading.
One version of the fraud involved causing the victims’ accounts to sell options contracts to the profit accounts, then to purchase the same contracts back minutes later for up to nine times the price. The group also used the profit accounts to offer short sales of securities at prices well over market price and to force the victim accounts to make irrational purchases.
Murmylyuk was arrested in Brooklyn on 3 November 2011, in possession of a laptop that evidenced the fraud.
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