DOJ charges 3 Russians in alleged $63M cybercrime scheme targeting Americans

Three Russian nationals allegedly scammed Americans in 21 states out of more than $63 million, according to a December 2024 indictment that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio unsealed Tuesday.

The trio — Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, 43, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, 34, and Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova, 29 — conducted "malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure" through their St. Petersburg, Russia-based companies Media Land, LLC and ML.Cloud, LLC, according to federal prosecutors.

"From their overseas safe haven, these defendants ran the criminal infrastructure that powered attacks on critical institutions across our nation," Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement.

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"Their actions put the American public at risk. We will continue to dismantle these networks and protect our critical infrastructure from cybercriminals at home and abroad."

A grand jury indicted the trio on charges of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in December 2024.

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering up to $10 million for information on foreign government-linked associates of the trio or for affiliates of their companies.

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The U.S. and allied countries levied sanctions on the companies in 2025.

Media Land and MLCloud, according to the indictment, provided hosting services and information technology infrastructure for business both in the U.S. and abroad. Specifically, the groups offered "bulletproof hosting" services meant to be used by those trying to evade detection by law enforcement.

The companies "provided infrastructure and tech support to criminal client co-conspirators with the means to infect victim computers with malware and ransomware and then extorted those victims for money and cryptocurrency," the U.S. Attorney's Office Tuesday announcement read.

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"Other computer-based crimes facilitated by Media Land and ML.Cloud included supporting criminal marketplaces, fraudulent domain registrations, and providing the platform from which to launch phishing and brute force attacks," the announcement added.

While many U.S. residents were alleged victims of the group's products, their organizations targeted victims across the globe, prompting U.S. authorities to collaborate with international partners, a fact the U.S. attorney and the FBI both stressed.

"The victims in this case are not only in Ohio, but also in 20 other states across the country, touching every aspect of Americans’ lives. They include banks, schools, government entities, hospitals and media companies," United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio David M. Toepfer said in a statement. 

"Together with our international partners, we will aggressively combat the efforts of individuals who hide behind computers anywhere in the world who seek to profit and wreak havoc by targeting the infrastructures that support our communities."

Other international organizations that Toepfer thanked included the National Police of the Netherlands and the Netherlands' Public Prosecutor's Office, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Federal Police.

"Today’s announcement underscores the importance of global partnerships and international collaboration, especially in a borderless world riddled with cyber criminals," FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Josh DelManzo also said.

"The methods used by these bad actors, including ransomware, malware, phishing and other cyber activity, serves as a reminder that whether for business or personal use, when you are online, criminal networks will stop at nothing to hack, attack, share, or sell your information for their own greed, gain, and profit. The FBI and its partners will continue to identify and cripple criminal networks and freeze their infrastructures to reduce or remove the threats to the public and further protect trusting individuals and companies."

Fox News Digital contacted the DOJ for further comment.

The U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Ohio declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.