A Ukrainian national has entered a guilty plea in a federal court in Austin to a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, related to his involvement with the notorious Raccoon Infostealer malware. The U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas announced the plea from Mark Sokolovsky, who, at the age of 28, admitted to participating in a scheme that offered the malicious software as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) product.
According to the official court documents released, Sokolovsky and his associates leased the Raccoon Infostealer to cybercriminals at around $200 per month, payable in cryptocurrency. The malware was spread mainly through deceptive means such as email phishing and, once installed on the victims' computers, it extracted sensitive information including login details, financial data, and personal records. The perpetrators then either used the stolen data to commit financial fraud or sold it on dark web forums.
The takedown of Raccoon Infostealer's digital operations came in March 2022, following Sokolovsky's arrest by Dutch authorities. This international law enforcement collaboration included efforts from the FBI and legal entities in Italy and the Netherlands, successfully dismantling the infrastructure that supported the malware and taking it offline. After being indicted on related charges of fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft, Sokolovsky faced extradition to the United States from the Netherlands in February 2024.
As reported by U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas, as part of the plea agreement, Sokolovsky has consented to forfeit a money judgment of $23,975 and make restitution payments amounting to at least $910,844.61. The extensive investigation that led to this outcome involved units like the FBI's Austin Cyber Task Force and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, along with several local Texas law enforcement agencies, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas.
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