ALIASES: Максим Ястремський, “Maksik,” “Malasay Valery”
DOB: November 6, 1982
NATIONALITY: Ukraine
CITIZENSHIP: Ukraine
HEIGHT: 5’8”
WEIGHT: 150 lbs
HAIR COLOR: Blonde
EYE COLOR: Blue
U.S. SECRET SERVICE FIELD OFFICE: San Diego / Headquarters – Cyber Investigative Section
CASE SUMMARY
On May 12, 2008, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a 27-count indictment charging Maksym Yastremskiy and a co-defendant with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, and counts of interception of electronic communications.
According to the charges, Yastremskiy and others allegedly engaged in a scheme in which they hacked into cash register terminals at multiple restaurants around the United States in order to acquire “Track 2” credit and debit card information. The defendants then sold the stolen data to others who used it to make fraudulent purchases or re-sold it to make such purchases, causing losses to financial institutions that issued the credit and debit cards.
Specifically, Yastremskiy and a co-defendant allegedly gained unauthorized access to the cash register terminals and installed at each restaurant a “packet sniffer,” a malicious piece of computer code designed to capture communications between two or more computer systems on a single network. The packet sniffer was configured to capture Track 2 data as it moved from the restaurant’s point-of-sale server through the computer system at the company’s corporate headquarters to the data processor’s computer system. At one restaurant location, the packet sniffer captured data for approximately 5,000 credit and debit cards, eventually causing losses of at least $600,000 to the financial institutions that issued the credit and debit cards.
On August 5, 2008, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California unsealed a separate indictment charging Yastremskiy with trafficking in unauthorized access devices, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments due to his alleged involvement in the sale of stolen credit card data illegally obtained by Albert Gonzalez, a former defendant associated with an older U.S. Secret Service investigation. The indictment alleges that Yastremskiy received proceeds exceeding $11 million from this criminal activity.
The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of California, and the District of Massachusetts, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Relevant Links
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If you have information regarding this individual, please contact the U.S. Secret Service at MostWanted@usss.dhs.gov.