A Brazilian man is facing serious charges in the United States for allegedly extorting a New Jersey company after stealing confidential customer data from its Brazilian subsidiary.
Junior Barros De Oliveira, 29, of Curitiba, Brazil, has been indicted on charges of extortion and threatening communications, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger. The indictment, unsealed in Newark federal court, alleges that De Oliveira gained unauthorized access to the computer systems of the victim company’s Brazilian subsidiary in March 2020.
“Exploiting this access, De Oliveira obtained confidential customer information relating to approximately 300,000 customers of Victim 1-Brazil,” the Department of Justice press release states.
De Oliveira then allegedly used this stolen data as leverage in an extortion scheme. In September 2020, he contacted representatives of the parent company in the U.S., including the CEO, demanding over $3 million in Bitcoin to prevent the data from being publicized.
Subsequently, in one of the messages sent to a company representative, the accused offered to “very interested in helping you guys solve this security flaw” but demanded a consultant fee of 75 bitcoins (around $800,000). He also provided detailed instructions for transferring the funds to a specified Bitcoin wallet. If convicted, De Oliveira could face significant prison time and fines.
“Each of the four counts of making extortionate threats in relation to information obtained from protected computers carry a maximum prison term of 5 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the value of any gain or loss, whichever is greater,” the press release explains.
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