French Man Sentenced to Prison for Wire Fraud
A French national was sentenced to three years in federal prison for participating in a scheme to sell stolen information on the dark web.
For at least two years, 22-year-old Sebastien Raoult, from France, and his accomplices stole confidential information and customer records from corporate entities and sold it through the dark web.
Raoult and his accomplices used phishing emails and websites. In most cases, they used phishing sites made to resemble that of an undisclosed company that provided code hosting and development platforms.
Raoult participated in the creation of the phishing websites. They sent emails to employees of their target companies with links to the phishing websites.
They stole the employee's login credentials and used them to gain access to the confidential data of their victim companies. The data they stole from the companies included the companies' confidential and proprietary data, such as source code, and customer records, including personally identifiable information and financial information.
After stealing the information Raoult and his accomplices used the username "ShinyHunters " to sell the information on dark web marketplaces such as Empire Market. ShinyHunters sold data stolen from more than 60 companies.
In some cases, ShinyHunters asked for ransoms from the victim companies. Ransoms paid by some of the companies were as high as $425,000.
Raoult and his accomplices caused the companies loses of over $6 million.
Raoult was arrested in Morocco in 2022 and extradited to the US. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in September 2023.
In addition to the three years in prison, Raoult was ordered to pay a restitution of $5,050,419.
Sebastien Raoult
For at least two years, 22-year-old Sebastien Raoult, from France, and his accomplices stole confidential information and customer records from corporate entities and sold it through the dark web.
Raoult and his accomplices used phishing emails and websites. In most cases, they used phishing sites made to resemble that of an undisclosed company that provided code hosting and development platforms.
Raoult participated in the creation of the phishing websites. They sent emails to employees of their target companies with links to the phishing websites.
They stole the employee's login credentials and used them to gain access to the confidential data of their victim companies. The data they stole from the companies included the companies' confidential and proprietary data, such as source code, and customer records, including personally identifiable information and financial information.
After stealing the information Raoult and his accomplices used the username "ShinyHunters " to sell the information on dark web marketplaces such as Empire Market. ShinyHunters sold data stolen from more than 60 companies.
In some cases, ShinyHunters asked for ransoms from the victim companies. Ransoms paid by some of the companies were as high as $425,000.
Raoult and his accomplices caused the companies loses of over $6 million.
Raoult was arrested in Morocco in 2022 and extradited to the US. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in September 2023.
In addition to the three years in prison, Raoult was ordered to pay a restitution of $5,050,419.
