Ukrainian national Mark Sokolovsky was sentenced Wednesday to 60 months in federal prison for one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
According to court documents, Sokolovsky, 28, conspired to operate the Raccoon Infostealer as a malware-as-a-service or ‘MaaS’.
Individuals who deployed Raccoon Infostealer to steal data from victims leased access to the malware for approximately $200 per month, paid for by cryptocurrency. These individuals used various ruses, such as email phishing, to install the malware onto the computers of unsuspecting victims.
Raccoon Infostealer then stole personal data from victim computers, including log-in credentials, financial information, and other personal records. The stolen information was used to commit financial crimes or was sold to others on cybercrime forums.
In March 2022, concurrent with Sokolovsky’s arrest by Dutch authorities, the FBI and law enforcement partners in Italy and the Netherlands dismantled the digital infrastructure supporting the Raccoon Infostealer, taking its then-existing version offline.
Sokolovsky was extradited from the Netherlands in February 2024 after being indicted for crimes related to fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
As part of his plea in October, Sokolovsky agreed to forfeit $23,975 and pay at least $910,844.61 in restitution.
“Mark Sokolovsky was a key player in an international criminal conspiracy that victimized countless individuals by administering malware which made it cheaper and easier for even amateurs to commit complex cybercrimes,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.
Esparza stressed that Wednesday’s outcome resulted from tireless investigative efforts by multiple law enforcement agencies in several countries.
“Sokolovsky’s infostealer was responsible for compromising more than 52 million user credentials, which were then used in furtherance of fraud, identity theft, and ransomware attacks on millions of victims worldwide,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp for the FBI’s San Antonio field office.
Tapp added, “We want to thank our Cyber Task Force and international partners for their assistance in bringing Sokolovsky to justice. Cases like this are a priority for the FBI and we encourage anyone who has been a victim of a financial scam to go to www.IC3.gov.”
