Never a good look, at least not to prosecutors.
“The U.S. government will get a rare chance to prosecute one of the world's most-wanted cybercriminal suspects with the extradition of a Turkish man accused of orchestrating a global operation to hack automated teller machines,” reports Tribune News.
Ercan Findikoglu, 33, boarded a flight to New York on Tuesday after losing his fight against extradition from a German prison, according to a law enforcement official who asked for anonymity because the operation wasn't yet public. He was arrested during a trip to Frankfurt by German authorities in December 2013 after eluding U.S. capture for five years.
Findikoglu allegedly organized a criminal operation that stole $40 million in cash from ATMs within 10 hours in February 2013 in New York City and 23 other countries, according to a ruling in his extradition case from the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. The so-called unlimited cash out operations used hacked debit cards with withdrawal limits removed to make ATMs spew money.
Findikoglu was indicted on 18 criminal charges by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, according to the German court. The indictment and a criminal complaint against him are sealed. Findikoglu's lawyer in Frankfurt, Oliver Wallasch, declined to comment.
"Most-wanted cybercriminal extradited from Germany"
Findikoglu in happier times.
