A man from New York City has admitted to computer hacking and associated crimes after being caught with a laptop containing hundreds of thousands of stolen payment card details.

32-year-old Vitalii Antonenko pleaded guilty in a Boston court to stealing credit and debit card data and other personal identifiable information from computer networks and selling it on the darknet to other criminals.

Working with unnamed criminal associates, Antonenko used SQL injection attacks to extract sensitive information from vulnerable online systems. Victims included a hospitality business and non-profit science research institution, both based in eastern Massachusetts.

Of course, earning a large amount of money is only part of the story for criminal hackers. Another consideration is what on earth are you going to actually do with the money, and how can you avoid drawing unwanted attention to your dramatic increase in wealth?

Antonenko and his co-conspirators attempted to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership and control of illegal funds through the use of cryptocurrency, and what the US Department of Justice called “traditional bank and cash transactions to launder the proceeds.”

Antonenko’s role in the crime wave came to an end in March 2019 when he was arrested at JFK International Airport on money-laundering charges, after his arrival on a flight from Ukraine with computer equipment containing hundreds of thousands of stolen payment card details.

Undercover law enforcement agents had linked Antonenko to two bitcoin wallets used in transactions totaling $94 million, according to reports at the time.  According to investigator Peter Gannon, Antonenko was selling Bitcoins below the market price, which raised suspicions that he was laundering his money.

Three months after his arrest, Antonenko’s defence team reportedly requested a psychiatric evaluation of their client after he started showing signs of instability and claimed he was secretly working for the CIA.

US District Judge William G. Young has told Antonenko he will be sentenced on December 10, 2024.  The hacking crimes could mean a maximum of five years in prison for Antonenko, alongside three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, plus the seizure of assets obtained through the illegal activity, and restitution to victims.

The money-laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, plus restitution and forfeiture.