Prosecutors allege that Wang profited millions of dollars from hackers and other cybercriminals seeking access to the infected IP addresses. These addresses were then used to commit crimes, including bomb threats, stalking, illegal exportation of goods, child exploitation, and various financial crimes. The indictment states that since 2014, the perpetrators have stolen billions of dollars from financial institutions, credit card issuers, and federal lending programs, including pandemic relief efforts. The compromised IP addresses facilitated approximately 560,000 fraudulent unemployment claims, resulting in a loss exceeding $5.9 billion, according to the DOJ.
The botnet also enabled criminals outside the U.S. to use stolen credit cards or illicit funds to buy goods and illegally export them. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized that the DOJ will continue to pursue cybercriminals globally. FBI Director Christopher Wray added that the 911 S5 botnet, likely the world’s largest, infected computers in nearly 200 countries, enabling various computer-enabled crimes, including fraud, identity theft, and child exploitation.
