Oleg Korniev, a 42-year-old Ukrainian-Russian dual citizen, has pleaded guilty in the US to money laundering, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy charges for co-leading Your Mule Cashout (YMCO), a criminal laundering network operating since September 2007 that recruited more than 15,000 US money mules through fake remote-job offers. Cybercriminals' proceeds landed in mule bank accounts — more than $10m stolen from over 750 US bank accounts at more than 35 banks — before being wired through Western Union and MoneyGram to cash-out contractors in Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and Latvia, with YMCO running parallel schemes in Germany, Italy, the UK and Australia. Korniev admitted more than $14.7m in actual and intended losses and laundering at least $7m of the $9.7m received, and faces two to 50 years' imprisonment. Four associates previously extradited to North Carolina drew 37–63-month sentences and more than $9.1m in restitution each.

• Source article