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Ukrainians, Russians Among Eight Charged With Stealing SEC Information, Making Illegal Trades

Eight individuals allegedly used stolen SEC documents to make trades based off the information.

Federal authorities have filed charges accusing eight people, including several Russians and Ukrainians who are not in U.S. custody, of hacking into the Securities and Exchange Commission and making $4.1 million through illegal trading profits, The Washington Post reports. Ukrainian nationals Igor Sabodakha, Victoria Vorochek, Oleksandr Ieremenko, Artem Radchenko, and Ivan Olefir were charged in the alleged scheme, along with Andrey Sarafanov of Russia, and Sungjin Cho and David Kwon of Los Angeles. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey accuses the defendants of orchestrating a “sophisticated cyberattack” in 2016 that allowed them to steal sensitive corporate documents and make trades based off the stolen information. According to prosecutors and the Justice Department press release, the individuals allegedly conducted a series of cyberattacks using phishing and malware to infiltrate the SEC, steal non-public corporate information, and then make profitable stock trades. “These threats to our marketplace are significant and ongoing and often involve threats from actors outside our borders. No system can be entirely safe from a cyber intrusion,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said in a statement.