BOSTON (AP) 鈥� A Russian millionaire with ties to the Kremlin was convicted Tuesday of participating in an elaborate $90 million insider trading scheme using secret earnings information from companies such as Microsoft that was stolen from U.S. computer networks.
Vladislav Klyushin, 42, who ran a Moscow-based information technology company associated with the Russian government, was found guilty on all charges against him, including wire fraud and securities fraud,
鈥淭he jury saw Mr. Klyushin for exactly what he is 鈥� a cybercriminal and a cheat. He repeatedly gamed the system and finally got caught. Now he is a convicted felon. For nearly three years, he and his co-conspirators repeatedly hacked into U.S. computer networks to obtain tomorrow鈥檚 headlines today,鈥� Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said in an email statement.
Klyushin was arrested in 2021 in Switzerland after he arrived on a private jet and just before he and his party were about to board a helicopter to whisk them to a nearby ski resort. Four alleged co-conspirators 鈥� including a Russian military intelligence officer 鈥� remain at large.
Klyushin鈥檚 attorney, Maksim Nemtsev, said in an email that he and his client are disappointed but respect the jury鈥檚 verdict. He said they intend to appeal, adding that the case included 鈥渘ovel theories鈥� that have never before been reviewed or adopted by higher courts.
Klyushin was owner of a Moscow-based information technology company that purported to provide services to detect vulnerabilities in computer systems. It counted among its clients the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government entities, according to prosecutors.
Klyushin was also close friends with a Russian military officer who was among 12 Russians charged in 2018 with hacking into key Democratic Party email accounts, including those belonging to Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. , who worked for Klyushin's company, was a hacker in the alleged insider trading scheme, alleged prosecutors. They haven't alleged that Klyushin was involved in the election interference.
Prosecutors say hackers stole employees鈥� usernames and passwords for two U.S.-based vendors that publicly traded companies use to make filings through the Securities and Exchange Commission. They then broke into the vendors鈥� computer systems to get financial disclosures for hundreds of companies 鈥� including Microsoft, Tesla and Kohls, Ulta Beauty and Sketchers 鈥� before the were filed to the SEC and became public, prosecutors said. Many of the earnings reports were downloaded via a computer server located in Boston, according to prosecutors.
Armed with this insider information, they were able to cheat the stock market, alleged prosecutors, who said Klyushin personally turned a $2 million investment into nearly $21 million, and altogether, the group turned about $9 million into nearly $90 million.
Klyushin鈥檚 attorney denied that his client was involved in the scheme, telling jurors in his opening statement that the government鈥檚 case was filled with 鈥済aping holes鈥� and 鈥渋nferences.鈥�
Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
