The acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia said Tuesday that the ring hacked into payroll debit card information of Royal Bank of Scotland Group in Atlanta.

The group created 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards used to withdraw money from more than 2,100 ATMS in at least 280 cities worldwide, including the United States, acting U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said.

"This investigation has broken the back of one of the most sophisticated computer hacking rings in the world," Yates said in a statement.

Once the hackers had access to the account data , they raised the limits on the accounts and then provided a network of "cashers" with 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards, she said. The investigation found those "cashers" quickly drained $9.4 million from the payroll account.

Authorities said Sergei Tsurikov 25, of Tallinn, Estonia, was in custody but the U.S. attorney's office declined to discuss the whereabouts of the others.

Tsurikov; Viktor Pleschuk, 28, of St. Petersburg, Russia; and Oleg Covelin, 28, of Chisnau, Moldova; and a fourth individual federal authorities would not identify were each indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Four others -- Igor Grudijev, 31; Ronald Tsoi, 31; Evelin Tsoi, 20; and Mihhail Jevgenov, 33 -- were each indicted on charges of access device fraud. All four are from Tallinn, Estonia.

FBI Special Agent Greg Jones said the charges send "a clear message to cyber criminals across the globe: Justice will not stop at international borders."

The investigation is ongoing.

The indictment seeks the forfeiture of $9.4 million from the defendants.
 

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