ALIASES: Александр Лефтеров, “Alipako,” “Uptime,” "Alipatime"
DOB: December 26, 1986
NATIONALITY: Moldova
CITIZENSHIP: Moldova
HEIGHT: 5'10"
WEIGHT: 180 lbs
HAIR COLOR: Brown
EYE COLOR: Brown
U.S. SECRET SERVICE FIELD OFFICE: Pittsburgh
CASE SUMMARY
On April 16, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania unsealed an indictment charging Moldovan national Alexander Lefterov for computer fraud crimes, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to the indictment, from March 2021 through November 2021, Lefterov, age 37, and his co-conspirators allegedly operated and controlled a botnet comprising thousands of infected computers throughout the United States, including in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Lefterov’s co-co-conspirators allegedly included “coders” who used their technical expertise to maintain and update the botnet over time. During the conspiracy, Lefterov and his co-conspirators stole victims’ login credentials from the infected computers—i.e., usernames and passwords—and then used the credentials to gain access to victim accounts at financial institutions, payment processors, and retail establishments as means to steal money from the victims. To further monetize the scheme, Lefterov allegedly leased the botnet to other co-conspirators by providing them access to infected computers as well as to the victims’ stolen credentials. Lefterov and his co-conspirators also provided access to the botnet for the purpose of distributing malware, including ransomware, to infected computers within the botnet. As the owner and operator of the botnet, Lefterov allegedly received a percentage-share of profits derived from the scheme.
The conspiracy to commit computer fraud, unauthorized access of a protected computer to obtain information for financial gain, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud offenses each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The intentional damage to a protected computer offense carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, and the maximum penalty for each of the aggravated identity theft offenses is not less than two years of imprisonment to run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Relevant Links
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If you have information regarding this individual, please contact the U.S. Secret Service at MostWanted@usss.dhs.gov.