Man Pleads Guilty to Trying to Bribe Worker With Bitcoin in Would-Be Extortion Attempt

The man traveled to the U.S. to recruit an employee to introduce malware into the unnamed company's network, the DOJ alleges.

AccessTimeIconMar 19, 2021 at 10:05 a.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:29 p.m. UTC
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A Russian man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hack a U.S. company's computer network in which he attempted to bribe an employee with bitcoin in a thwarted extortion attempt.

  • Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27, traveled to the U.S. to recruit an employee to his scheme to introduce malware into the unnamed company's network.
  • According to the announcement from the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday, Kriuchkov offered to pay the employee in bitcoin for committing the act.
  • The defendant made numerous trips between California and Nevada in August 2020 to entice the employee before the employee reported him to his employer, who in turn alerted the FBI.
  • Kriuchkov pleaded guilty to conspiracy to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer.
  • He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10.

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