Brooklyn Man Sentenced To 57 Months In Prison For An Account Takeover And Money Laundering Scheme Affecting Tens Of Thousands Of Victims

JASON MICKEL ELCOCK, a/k/a “Prezzi,” was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 57 months in prison for engaging in a decade-long scheme to steal personal and financial information from tens of thousands of individuals and businesses and unlawful possession of a firearm, resulting in a loss of more than $1.1 million to banks and online retailers. ELCOCK pled guilty on March 12, 2019, to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, and unlawful possession of a firearm. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero imposed sentence earlier today.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The theft and exploitation of our online data by perpetrators hiding in the weeds of the Internet is becoming all too common. This Office is committed to identifying, exposing and prosecuting cyber thieves wherever they may be found.”

NYPD Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill said: “As criminals move to the digital frontier, law enforcement is following. In this case, the NYPD is proud to have teamed with its FBI partners to bring this insidious criminal scheme to a close.”

According to the Complaint, the Indictment, the Superseding Information, statements made in court, and publicly available documents:

Between 2008 and 2018, ELCOCK, co-defendant Shoshana Marie McGill, and other co-conspirators participated in a scheme to defraud banks and e-commerce retailers by using stolen personal identifying information (“PII”), bank account information, and credit and debit card data from tens of thousands of individuals and businesses for personal financial gain. ELCOCK and his co-conspirators acquired PII and financial account data in part by buying the information from criminal websites. They also hacked into victims’ email accounts to steal personal information stored in those accounts, into victims’ online bank accounts to download copies of their checks, and into victims’ digital password vaults to pilfer their usernames and passwords. ELCOCK then monetized the stolen data in various ways, including by: (1) using the stolen credit card information to buy merchandise and services from e-commerce retailers for resale or for personal use; (2) using stolen PII to open new lines of credit in his victims’ names without their permission; (3) transferring money electronically out of victims’ bank accounts; and (4) creating and cashing fraudulent checks issued against victims’ bank accounts. Among other things, ELCOCK and [link to www.justice.gov (secure)]