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Friday, October 9, 2026

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Justice · Friday, October 9, 2026

Leader of a crew that used 15,000 unwitting Americans to move hackers' loot pleads guilty

The File desk · Oct 9, 2026, 10:40 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed guilty plea. The Justice Department's release, dated Oct. 8, 2026. Korniev has admitted the charges in the plea. Sentencing is not set.

  • Confirmed

    Oleg Korniev pleaded guilty in the Western District of North Carolina. He faces two to 50 years.

  • Confirmed

    Prosecutors say the group recruited more than 15,000 people in the United States to move stolen money.

Oleg Korniev, 42, a citizen of both Ukraine and Russia, helped lead a group called Your Mule Cashout. Prosecutors say it tricked more than 15,000 people in the United States into thinking they had real jobs moving money for companies. In fact they were wiring out of the country money that hackers had stolen from more than 750 American bank accounts. The people moving the money were never paid. Korniev pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in North Carolina. He admitted the group caused more than $14.7 million in actual and intended losses. He faces two to 50 years in prison.

The Justice Department says Korniev was one of the leaders of Your Mule Cashout. The group, it says, recruited over 15,000 U.S.-based money mules to launder at least $10 million stolen by hackers from over 750 U.S. bank accounts. A money mule is a person who moves stolen money for criminals, often without knowing it. Korniev agreed the organization was responsible for over $14.7 million in actual and intended losses, that he intended to launder over $9.7 million, and that he did launder at least $7 million. He agreed to pay full restitution.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit access device theft, and aggravated identity theft. He was arrested in the Republic of Georgia. He faces a minimum of two years and a maximum of 50 years. A judge will set the sentence later, after considering the federal

. Four other people were previously sentenced to about 37 to 63 months. The case is in the Western District of North Carolina, with the department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Ukrainian-Russian Dual Citizen Pleads Guilty to Running International Money Laundering Organization for Cybercriminals

    U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs · October 8, 2026

    In total, this international criminal organization recruited over 15,000 U.S.-based money mules to launder at least $10 million stolen by hackers from over 750 U.S. bank accounts.

    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ukrainian-russian-dual-citizen-pleads-guilty-running-international-money-laundering