January 10, 2024 at 10:37AM
ShinyHunters group member Sebastien Raoult, 22, was sentenced to three years and must return $5 million in proceeds after developing fake websites to steal victims’ credentials, leading to data theft and financial harm. The French national caused substantial losses to companies, and his extradition from Morocco resulted in a 36-month supervised release after serving his sentence.
Based on the meeting notes, Sebastien Raoult, a key member of the ShinyHunters cybercrime group, has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to return $5 million in criminal proceeds. Raoult was responsible for creating phishing websites that mimicked the real login pages of major brands, using them to harvest credentials from victims. The stolen data was then sold on dark web marketplaces and the group also demanded ransom payments from owners of the stolen data. Raoult, a French national, worked for ShinyHunters for over two years, during which the group netted over $6 million from the large volume of sales. More than 60 companies are believed to have been breached by the gang, including high-profile incidents involving AT&T Wireless and Microsoft.
Raoult’s motive was described as “pure greed,” as he not only sold hacked data but also stole cryptocurrency, sold his hacking tools, and played a substantial part in the cybercrime scheme by creating code and phishing websites. US District Judge Robert S Lasnik emphasized the gravity of Raoult’s sentence and urged his family to monitor his activities in France to prevent his return to criminality. Raoult’s sentence includes 12 months for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 24 months for aggravated identity theft, with credit for time served in Morocco, where he was arrested before being extradited to the US. After his sentence, he will be under supervised release for an additional 36 months. Additionally, two other individuals from France, Gabriel Kimiaie-Asadi Bildstein and Abdel-Hakim El Ahmadi, were also included in the indictment but have yet to be sentenced.
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