An Israeli detained in New York in 2019 on charges of involvement in a hacker hire scheme has pleaded guilty, federal prosecutors said, Reuters reported on April 20.
New York federal prosecutors allege former private detective Aviram Azari orchestrated a series of hacks on behalf of unnamed third parties against U.S. companies based in New York, using fake websites and phishing messages to steal email account passwords.
Five people familiar with the case say Azari is being charged in connection with New Delhi-based BellTroX InfoTech Services, which Reuters reported last year was behind a hacking campaign against lawyers, government officials, businessmen, investors and activists around the world.
Azari’s attorney, Barry Zona, said his client pleaded guilty and pleaded guilty to being the go-between for the hacking scheme, but added that his client was not cooperating with the US government.
Zona said the allegations against Azari stemmed from work Azari did for the German payment company Wirecard.
Founded in 1999, Wirecard started out processing payments for gambling and pornographic sites and went on to become a fintech star and a member of the German DAX blue chip index.
She ended up filing for insolvency in June 2020, owing nearly $4 billion to her creditors, after exposing a $1.9 billion hole in her accounts that was likely the result of a sophisticated global fraud.
Source: Rossaprimavera
