Israeli private detective sentenced in US to 6-2/3 years for hacker-for-hire scheme (updated)

Wirecard AG

16/11/2023 20:29

(Adds details from court in paragraphs 3, 6, 9, 11)
    By Luc Cohen
       NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Thursday
sentenced an Israeli private detective to 6-2/3 years in prison
for organizing global hacking campaigns against thousands of
people including climate change activists and critics of German
company Wirecard.
    Aviram Azari, a former policeman detained in the United
States since 2019, pleaded guilty last year to three counts of
wire fraud, conspiracy to commit hacking and aggravated identity
theft. 
    In sentencing Azari in federal court in Manhattan, U.S.
District Judge John Koeltl said the hacking had a "devastating
impact" on its victims.
    Prosecutors had asked that Azari, 51, get eight to nine
years in prison, saying that his firm earned nearly $5 million
dollars over five years for managing hacking campaigns which
targeted many public interest groups among other victims.  
    His defense lawyer, Barry Zone, asked for a sentence of no
more than five years, arguing that Azari had accepted
responsibility and contracted a "debilitating medical condition"
while jailed in New York. 
    "Your Honor, I made a mistake," Azari said in court through
a Hebrew interpreter before the sentence was handed down. "I
take responsibility, full responsibility, for my actions. I
regret with all of my heart for all of the victims."
    Prosecutors said now-defunct payment processor Wirecard,
which was a member of Germany's blue chip DAX index before
filing for insolvency in 2020, hired Azari to target individuals
and financial firms that had criticized the company. 
    According to prosecutors, Azari also used hackers to steal
emails from climate activists who were campaigning against U.S.
oil company Exxon Mobil Corp  XOM.N , which then cited media
articles based on those messages to fend off probes by U.S.
state attorneys general. 
    Prosecutors did not allege any link between Azari and Exxon,
which denied any connection to Azari or his hacking campaign.
Three victims who spoke in court, including two climate
activists, said they still wanted to learn his clients'
identities.
    Azari was the subject of an investigation last year by
Reuters that revealed how he and other private eyes used
mercenary hackers in India to help wealthy clients gain an
advantage in court battles.
    Addressing his victims after sentencing, Azari said, "There
will come a day" when he could provide more information. "You
don't know everything," he said.

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Israeli charged in global hacker-for-hire scheme pleads guilty  
 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-charged-global-hacker-for-hire-scheme-pleads-guilty-2022-04-20/#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%2C%20April%2020%20(Reuters,aggravated%20identity%20theft%20on%20Wednesday.
Mercenary hackers stole data that Exxon later cited in climate
lawsuits -US prosecutors     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3BI3LR
How mercenary hackers sway litigation battles    https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-hackers-litigation/
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 (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Cynthia
Osterman)
 ((luc.cohen@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 361 1622; Reuters
Messaging: Twitter: @cohenluc))