On August 5, 2015, the SEC and DOJ both filed cases against against a large group of hackers and traders who carried out an audacious insider trading and hacking scheme. According to the DOJ, five men engaged in an “international scheme to hack into three business newswires, steal yet-to-be published press releases containing non-public financial information, and use the information to make trades that allegedly generated approximately $30 million in illegal profits.” The DOJ ultimately brought criminal charges against 10 trader and hacker defendants in the case. The SEC’s complaint further alleged that the hackers worked with a much broader network of other traders that increased the amount of the unlawful profits to over $100 million.
Yesterday, almost exactly one year after the cases were brought, prosecutors announced the latest guilty plea in the case–the fifth so far. Leonid Momotok, a Russian-born U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to his trading based on the inside information provided by the Ukranian hackers. Reuters reports that Momotok admited in court that “I profited from these trades…. It was a bad judgment. I am very sorry.”
