International phishing suspect set for hearing in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh want a judge to jail an Eastern European man until he can stand trial on charges of running an international email phishing scheme that enabled him and others to steal banking information from U.S. companies.
Thirty-year-old Andrey Ghinkul is from Moldova. He was arrested in August while on vacation in Cyprus and was extradited to Pennsylvania last month.
Wednesday’s detention hearing is being held because prosecutors say Ghinkul is a threat to flee prosecution.
The FBI says U.S. victims of the Bugat malware that infected computers of those who opened the phishing emails lost about $10 million. But worldwide, businesses and others have lost at least $25 million.
The case is in Pittsburgh because a western Pennsylvania school district and bank were among the biggest victims.