Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of Defendants Linked To Massive Network Intrusions At U.S. Financial Institutions, U.S. Brokerage Firms, A Major News Publication, And Other Companies In Furtherance Of Securities Fraud Scheme And Other Crimes

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and David E. Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service New York Field Office (“USSS”), announced today that GERY SHALON, a/k/a “Garri Shalelashvili,” a/k/a “Gabriel,” a/k/a “Gabi,” a/k/a “Phillipe Mousset,” a/k/a “Christopher Engeham,” and ZIV ORENSTEIN, a/k/a “Aviv Stein,” a/k/a “John Avery,” were extradited from Israel.  SHALON and ORENSTEIN were arrested in July 2015 for charges arising out of SHALON’s orchestration of massive computer hacking crimes against U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, and financial news publishers, including the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history.  SHALON is charged with committing these crimes with JOSHUA SAMUEL AARON, a/k/a “Mike Shields,” in furtherance of securities market manipulation schemes that SHALON and AARON perpetrated with defendant ORENSTEIN.  SHALON, a Georgian and Israeli citizen, and ORENSTEIN, an Israeli citizen, arrived in the Southern District of New York last night and early this morning, respectively, and will be presented today in Manhattan federal court, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “Gery Shalon and Ziv Orenstein, two of the alleged perpetrators of the cybercrime that we described at the time of their arrests as securities fraud on cyber steroids, have been successfully extradited from Israel to the United States.  For the alleged hacks into numerous U.S. companies, including the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history, in furtherance of their securities fraud, Sharon and Orenstein will now face prosecution in a U.S. court.”

SHALON and ORENSTEIN were arrested by Israeli authorities in July 2015, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant that was issued on the securities fraud charges in this case.    AARON, a U.S. citizen, has yet to be arrested by U.S. authorities.

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The charges in the Indictment against SHALON, 31, of Savyon, Israel, AARON, 31, a U.S. citizen who is believed to reside in Moscow, Russia, and ORENSTEIN, 40, of Bat Hefer, Israel, are included in the chart below.  The maximum potential sentences listed below are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the United States Secret Service, and expressed his sincere gratitude to the Office of the State Attorney of the Israel Ministry of Justice’s Department of International Affairs and the Israel National Police, including its Cyber Unit - Lahav 433, for their support and assistance with the investigation and the extradition proceedings.  He also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which significantly aided the investigation by facilitating information-sharing among the victim institutions, and the U.S. Marshals Service, for their assistance in the extradition of the defendants.

The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eun Young Choi and Sarah Lai are in charge of the prosecution.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Diskant of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.