Oleg Korniev Pleads Guilty in Major Money Laundering Scheme

Oleg Korniev, a 42-year-old dual citizen of Ukraine and Russia, has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a major international money laundering operation. The scheme, which involved the laundering of millions of dollars stolen from U.S. victims, was facilitated through an organization known as Your Mule Cashout (YMCO).

According to the U. S. Department of Justice, Korniev was a leader within YMCO, which recruited over 15,000 U.

S. -based money mules to assist in laundering at least $10 million stolen by hackers from more than 750 U. S.

bank accounts. These mules were deceived into believing they were working for legitimate companies, processing stolen funds and wiring them out of the country, primarily to Eastern Europe.

YMCO's sophisticated system allowed hackers to conceal their thefts and transfer stolen money by paying YMCO a percentage of the proceeds. Korniev admitted that YMCO was responsible for over $14. 7 million in actual and intended losses.

He intended to launder over $9. 7 million and successfully laundered at least $7 million.

Korniev pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit access device theft, and aggravated identity theft. He faces a minimum of two years and a maximum of 50 years in prison, with sentencing to be determined at a later date.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U. S.

Attorney Matthew Warren for the Western District of North Carolina. The investigation received assistance from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Office of the Law Enforcement Attache in Tbilisi.

Previously, four other individuals associated with YMCO were arrested, extradited to the United States, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. They received sentences ranging from 37 to 63 months in prison and were ordered to pay over $9. 1 million in restitution to U.

S. victims.

Korniev has agreed to provide full restitution to known victims and to forfeit cash seized from him at the time of his arrest in the Republic of Georgia. The Justice Department emphasized its commitment to pursuing cybercriminals and their enablers, regardless of their location, to protect U.S. citizens and businesses from fraud.