A suspected member of the notorious Scattered Spider cybercriminal group was extradited to the United States from Spain on Wednesday, according to U.S. Justice Department officials. Tyler Buchanan, a 23-year-old man from Scotland, was arrested last year for his alleged role in stealing sensitive data from U.S. consumers and tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.
Buchanan was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and was taken into custody following a court appearance in California, the official said. Buchanan's attorney did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, which filed the lawsuit, declined to comment.
Buchanan and four co-defendants are accused of defrauding employees of multiple companies, including four major U.S. telecommunications carriers and a U.S. cryptocurrency company, into stealing their login credentials. Authorities said this allowed hackers to break into corporate systems with the ultimate goal of stealing customers' cryptocurrencies.
The hackers allegedly stole customer data or accessed phone providers' tools to intercept text messages or phone calls, according to the indictment. They then target specific customers with phishing links in an attempt to steal cryptocurrency or financial accounts.
Florida resident Noah Urban, North Carolina resident Joel Evans and two Texas residents, Ahmed Elbadawy and Evans Osiebo, were indicted for their role in cyberattacks that involved at least 29 people. Prosecutors said the defendants were members of a hacking group called Scattered Spider.
Court documents did not disclose the names of the hacking victims, but one of the victims was online game developer Riot Games Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter, when the indictment was made public, Bloomberg reported in December.
Members of Scattered Spider are suspected of attacking MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment Inc., Coinbase Global Inc. and other companies.