$14m ATM heist gang member jailed

$14m ATM heist gang member jailed

A cybergang member has been sentenced to 50 months in prison for his part in a global ATM heist that saw $14 million dollars stolen in a single weekend.

Qendrim Dobruna was also told to pay restitution in the amount of $14 million dollars by a New York judge, having pleaded guilty to bank fraud in July 2014.

Dobruna was part of the international syndicate that hacked into JPMorgan Chase, which processed transactions for prepaid debit cards issued by the American Red Cross for disaster relief victims.

The gang compromised the accounts, increased their balances and withdrawals limits before using a network of "cashing crews" to make 15,000 ATM withdrawals in 18 countries between 27 February and 1 March 2011.

Dobruna's role saw him act as a middle-man from his apartment in Stuttgart, receiving the stolen data from the hackers and selling it over the Internet to others, including a person in Brooklyn.

Acting United States Attorney Kelly Currie, says: "Today’s sentence serves as a warning to cybercriminals around the world that law enforcement is committed to solving these cybercrimes, no matter how sophisticated, and bringing the perpetrators to justice, wherever they may be found."

Last month the alleged mastermind behind the attack and two similar multi-million dollar efforts, Ercan Findikoglu, was finally extradited to the US after spending 18 months in a German jail. He has pleaded not guilty.

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