U.S. and allies arrest cybercriminal mastermind, seize sports car worth millions in COVID-19 fraud bust
Last updated: May 30, 2024 11:03 AM CDT
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a 35-year-old Chinese man was arrested in Singapore and millions of dollars worth of cars, watches and real estate were seized as part of a major investigation into a global cybercrime network that defrauded the U.S. government of billions of dollars. The Chinese man, Wang Yunhe, is accused of helping to build a large network of infected computers, known as a botnet, which the Justice Department alleges was used to carry out bomb threats, send child exploitation material online and commit financial fraud. According to statements from the Justice and Treasury departments, the fraudsters used the botnet to submit tens of thousands of false applications for federal relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to losses of about $5.9 billion. Matthew Axelrod, a senior Commerce Department official involved in the investigation, said in a statement that the cybercriminals’ actions and the lavish lifestyles they funded “seem almost ripped from a playbook.” FBI official Brett Leatherman told reporters that agents seized about $4 million worth of watches, sports cars, and other luxury assets, including Ferraris and Rolls Royces, as well as $30 million worth of real estate in East Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the United States. According to the indictment unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Wang used money earned from renting the botnet to buy real estate in those locations. Authorities in Singapore and Thailand cooperated with the FBI in the arrest, according to the Justice Department. Court records did not list the name of an attorney for Wang. Leatherman said the U.S. government is working to extradite him to the U.S. and that investigations of the other suspects are ongoing. Prosecutors said Wang and other alleged members of the crime network used virtual private networks (VPNs) to spread their malicious code, infecting 19 million different IP addresses around the world, 600,000 of which were in the U.S. An IP address is a unique number that corresponds to an individual device on the Internet. The new charges are just the latest suspected example of opportunistic fraud that has been rampant across the United States since COVID-19 emerged more than four years ago. Scammers jumped at the opportunity to exploit the more than $2 trillion federal economic stimulus package known as the CARES Act, the 2020 law that the botnets allegedly targeted. The problem became so severe that the Secret Service appointed a senior official as the National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator to try to recover some of the billions of dollars that were stolen. Such scams continue to this day. The IRS said in March that it was investigating tax and money laundering cases related to COVID-19 fraud that could amount to about $9 billion, more than half of which came from cases opened last year.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a 35-year-old Chinese man was arrested in Singapore and millions of dollars worth of cars, watches, property and other items were seized as part of a major investigation into a global cybercrime network that defrauded the U.S. government of billions of dollars.
Yunhe Wang, a Chinese national, is accused of helping to create a massive network of infected computers, known as a botnet, which the Justice Department alleges was used to make bomb threats, send child exploitation material online and commit financial fraud. The scammers used the botnet to submit tens of thousands of fake applications for federal relief during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to losses of approximately $5.9 billion, according to statements from the Justice and Treasury departments.
Matthew Axelrod, a senior Commerce Department official involved in the investigation, said in a statement that the cybercrime and the lavish lifestyle it funded “seemed like something ripped from a playbook.”
FBI Senior Official Brett Leatherman told reporters that agents seized about $4 million worth of watches, sports cars and other luxury items, including Ferraris and Rolls Royces, as well as $30 million worth of real estate in East Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the U.S. Wang used money from renting the botnet to buy real estate in those regions, according to the indictment unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
According to the Justice Department, authorities in Singapore and Thailand worked with the FBI to make the arrests.
Court records did not list a lawyer for Wang. Leatherman said the U.S. government was working to extradite Wang to the United States and that investigations into other suspects were continuing.
Prosecutors said Wang and other members of the criminal network used virtual private networks (VPNs) to spread their malicious code, infecting 19 million IP addresses worldwide, including 600,000 in the United States. An IP address is a unique number that corresponds to an individual device on the internet.
The new charges are just the latest example of the rampant opportunistic scams that have swept across the United States since COVID-19 emerged more than four years ago. Scammers have jumped on the opportunity to exploit the more than $2 trillion in federal economic stimulus package known as the CARES Act, the 2020 law that the botnets allegedly targeted.
The problem has gotten so bad that the Secret Service appointed a senior official as the National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator to try to recover some of the billions of dollars that have been stolen.
The scams are still ongoing: The IRS said in March that it was investigating coronavirus-related tax and money laundering fraud cases that could amount to roughly $9 billion, more than half of which came from cases opened last year.
