malaysian hacker

WASHINGTON, 9 SEPTEMBER 2008 - An Indian national and legal resident of Malaysia was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison on a conspiracy charge related to an international fraud scheme that hacked into online brokerage accounts in the U.S. in an attempt to manipulate stock prices, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the U.S. District Court of the District of Nebraska also sentenced Thirugnanam Ramanathan, age 35, to a fine of US$362,247 on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Ramanathan, a native of Chennai, India, and a legal resident of Malaysia, pled guilty to the charge on June 2.

Ramanathan was arrested in Hong Kong and extradited to the U.S. in May 2007.

Jaisankar Marimuthu, age 33, and Chockalingham Ramanathan, 34, also residents of Chennai, were indicted with Thirugnanam Ramanathan in January 2007 by a grand jury in Omaha, Nebraska, the DOJ said in a news release..

In this case, it is not only unethical but also a illegal act due to its fraud that hacked into online brokerage accounts in the U.S. They have hacked into the accounts of customers at brokerage firms and fraudulently inflated the prices of some stocks by making unauthorized purchases. Without customer’s knowledge, transactions have been made and this could cause a major lost to the business society and create chaos to the economy. By law, if although he is a Malaysian, but he has committed the crime in U.S. therefore, his punishments are based on the U.S law.

for more info http://www.mis-asia.com/news/articles/malaysia-resident-sentenced-in-brokerage-hacking-scheme