Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Three Defendants In Multimillion-Dollar Stock

Loretta E. Lynch, the Attorney General of the United States, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Robert J. Sica, Special Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service New York Field Office (“USSS”) announced today the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging GERY SHALON, a/k/a “Garri Shalelashvili,” a/k/a “Gabriel,” a/k/a “Gabi,” a/k/a “Phillipe Mousset,” a/k/a “Christopher Engeham,” with orchestrating massive computer hacking crimes against U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, and financial news publishers, including the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history (the “U.S. Financial Sector Hacks”). SHALON is charged with committing these crimes with JOSHUA SAMUEL AARON, a/k/a “Mike Shields,” in furtherance of securities market manipulation schemes that SHALON and AARON perpetrated with defendant ZIV ORENSTEIN, a/k/a “Aviv Stein,” a/k/a “John Avery” in the United States. As alleged, SHALON also orchestrated computer network hacks and cyberattacks in furtherance of other major criminal schemes, including unlawful internet casinos and illicit payment processors which SHALON operated with ORENSTEIN. SHALON also owned and controlled an illegal U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange known as Coin.mx. SHALON and ORENSTEIN were arrested in July 2015 by the Israel Police on an indictment that charged the underlying securities fraud, and they remain in custody in Israel pending extradition on those charges. The United States Attorney’s Office will seek their extradition to stand trial in the United States on the additional charges announced today. AARON remains at large. Also announced today is the unsealing of a separate indictment charging ANTHONY R. MURGIO with operating Coin.mx in the United States, and related crimes. MURGIO, who was arrested on a Complaint in July 2015, will be arraigned before the Honorable Alison J. Nathan.