British Hacker Accused in $3.75 Million Insider Trading Scheme Using Compromised Executive Emails
A British national, aged 39, has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) for engaging in a hacking-driven financial fraud plan that reaped almost $3.75 million in unlawful gains.
Last week, Robert Westbrook from London was apprehended and is slated to be sent to the U.S. to encounter accusations of securities fraud, wire fraud, and five instances of computer fraud.
Legal papers suggest that Westbrook allegedly conducted a deceitful tactic from January 2019 to May 2020 that enabled him to amass millions in revenue by illicitly accessing Microsoft 365 accounts owned by corporate leaders.
“On multiple occasions, Westbrook illicitly accessed Office 365 email accounts of executives working for specific U.S.-based firms to obtain confidential details, such as details about imminent earnings disclosures,” as stated by the DoJ explained.
Utilizing this data, he traded securities and earned profits by swiftly liquidating them once the information became public.
“He set up automatic forwarding rules to send content from compromised email accounts of corporate executives to email accounts under his control,” the DoJ highlighted.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asserted that Westbrook deceptively acquired confidential details from five public corporations ahead of a minimum of 14 earnings announcements by resetting the passwords for those executives’ accounts.
“Although Westbrook took various steps to mask his identity – such as utilizing anonymous email accounts, VPN services, and employing bitcoin – the Commission’s cutting-edge data analytics, crypto asset tracking, and technology can identify fraud even in instances of complex international hacking,” Jorge G. Tenreiro, acting head of the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, stated.
The securities fraud charge against Westbrook carries a maximum potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $5 million. The wire fraud allegations could result in a further maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is higher.
Every count of computer fraud carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.
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