U.S. Attorney Sellinger Presents on Cybercrime Trends at New Jersey State Bar Association Conference

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger delivered remarks on domestic and international cybercrime trends at the 2024 New Jersey State Bar Association conference.

He participated on a panel which included members of U.S. Attorney Sellinger’s staff and the FBI. On May 15, 2024, the panel discussed several aspects of the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime, including the recent 11 nation disruption of LockBit, at times the most active and destructive ransomware variant in the world, led by the FBI and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, and the District of New Jersey’s indictment of LockBit’s developer and leader, Russian national Dimitry Khoroshev. 

“The indictment alleges that Khoroshev acted as LockBit’s leader from its inception and that Lockbit allegedly attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries, including 1,800 victims in the United States. LockBit victims included individuals, small businesses, multinational corporations, hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law enforcement agencies. Khoroshev and his conspirators allegedly extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from their victims and caused billions of dollars in broader losses, such as lost revenue, incident response, and recovery.”

To date, six individuals, including Khoroshev, have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy.

Other topics discussed by the panel included the recent spike in cryptocurrency confidence scams, tech support schemes, and how Artificial Intelligence is affecting cybercrime investigations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains devoted to combatting all forms of cybercrime and obtaining justice for its victims.

The charges and allegations against the defendants in the LockBit case are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.