U.S. sentences Russian man for bank fraud scheme

PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. federal court in New York sentenced on Friday, March 23, Russian national Nikolay Garifulin to two years in prison for his involvement in a global bank fraud scheme to steal over $3 million from dozens of U.S. accounts, RIA Novosti reported.

In addition to his prison term, Garifulin, 23, of Volgograd, Russia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $100,000 and to pay over $192,000 in restitution.

Garifulin was among 27 Russians arrested in the United States in October 2010 on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and passport fraud. Most of his co-conspirators have already been sentenced to various prison terms.

According to court documents, cyber attacks to steal money from the bank accounts of small and mid-sized businesses throughout the United States originated in Eastern Europe. The attacks included the use of malware known as Zeus Trojan and targeted account holders at the Bank of America, TD Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Wachovia and HSBC Bank.