US Charges Cybercriminal with Stealing Money from Brokerage Accounts

The individual allegedly caused over $5 million in losses.

Idris Dayo Mustapha was not a lone wolf, authorities said.

According to the charges, Mustapha obtained access to US-based computers between 2011 and 2018 in order to steal money from online bank and securities brokerage accounts. In August 2021, Mustapha was arrested in the United Kingdom, and the United States is seeking his extradition.

“As alleged in the complaint, the defendant was part of a nefarious group that caused millions of dollars in losses to victims by engaging in a litany of cybercrimes, including widespread hacking, fraud, taking control of victims securities brokerage accounts and trading in the name of the victims. Protecting residents of the Eastern District and financial institutions from cybercriminals is a priority of this Office,” Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, commented.

Case Background

From 2011 onwards, Mustapha and his co-conspirators engaged in a long-running scheme to steal money through a variety of computer intrusions and frauds, as alleged in the criminal complaint.

Through various methods, Mustapha and his co-conspirators allegedly obtained login information for victims securities brokerage accounts as part of the scheme. After gaining access to these accounts, the conspirators stole money and conducted trades for their own benefit.

Conspirators initially gained access to victims‘ brokerage accounts and transferred money from those accounts to other accounts controlled by them. In order to circumvent unauthorized transfers being blocked by financial institutions, Mustapha and his co-conspirators accessed other victims’ brokerage accounts and made unauthorized stock trades within those accounts while simultaneously trading profitably in the same stocks from accounts they controlled.

“Cyber crimes are insidious because the criminals lurk in places most people don‘t see, and many don’t understand. Taking over victims email accounts and then stealing millions of dollars are just some of the crimes we allege Mustapha committed over the course of many years. Using digital platforms for banking and investing are now part of our everyday life, and the FBI is focused on making these tools safe from criminals like Mustapha,” Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the New York Field Office, pointed out.

Recently, the US DoJ announced that the CEO of Mining Capital Coin, dubbed ‘MCC’, a crypto mining and investment platform, has been charged for allegedly orchestrating a $62 million global investment fraud scheme.