There was evidence that they splurged on fancy cars, Rolex watches and luxurious vacations. But they were accused of stealing $ 2.8 million, and the authorities believed that they must have set cash aside to pay the organizers of the operation. The stolen money might lead to the orchestrators of one of the largest heists in New York history.
On Monday, Loretta E. Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the indictment of five more people in connection with the robbery and said they had uncovered a clue as to what happened to at least some of the cash from the New York heist.
“Newly seized photographic evidence reveals that the defendants sent the lion’s share of the proceeds to the organization’s leaders – including $ 800,000 of criminal cash proceeds sent in luggage and transported to Florida by bus for delivery to a cyberheist organizer,” Ms. Lynch’s office said in a statement.
The sophisticated robbery involved hacking into the computer systems of financial institutions, stealing prepaid debit card data and making fraudulent A.T.M. withdrawals.
Groups known as “cashing crews” in more than 24 countries received the stolen banking data and proceeded to loot thousands of A.T.M.’s with surgical precision.
The cashing crews first struck on Dec. 21, stealing $ 5 million from 4,500 A.T.M.’s.
On Feb. 19, crews around the world struck again, stealing $ 40 million in more than 36,000 A.T.M. transactions, all coordinated and carried out in a matter of hours.
The New York City crew took $ 400,000 in the first heist and $ 2.4 million during the second strike, hitting 2,904 bank machines in a little over 10 hours.
Eight people were indicted in May in connection with the case. Four of them have since pleaded guilty, according to court records.
The five people indicted Monday were part of the crew that looted machines around the city, according to court records.
One of those men, Saul Franjul, had photographs on his iPhone showing a mountain of cash on a hotel bed and stuffed into a suitcase, the authorities said.
The authorities said the cash was to be sent by bus to Miami to Alberto Yusi Lajud-Peña, who was indicted in May and was believed to be the ringleader of the New York crew. From there, it was to be sent to the network’s organizers overseas, the authorities said.
The authorities declined to comment on the ultimate destination of the suitcase. Mr. Lajud-Peña fled to the Dominican Republic and was killed there during what the authorities believe was a botched robbery.
A manila envelope with $ 100,000 was found by his body.
Yahoo Local News – New York Times
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