Convicted cybercriminal from Bradford, Ont., sentenced for global ransomware scheme
Convicted cybercriminal Mikhail Vasiliev has been sentenced to nearly four years in jail after pleading guilty last month to eight counts of cyber extortion, mischief and weapons charges.
The Russian-Canadian man who called Bradford, Ont., home was behind a conspiracy that made international headlines and involved hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Mikhail Vasiliev took responsibility for his actions, and that played out in today's courtroom with the sentence that was imposed," said Louis Strezos, Vasiliev's lawyer from outside the courthouse on Tuesday.
While delivering the sentence, Justice Michelle Fuerst called Vasiliev a "cyber-terrorist," saying his conduct was "planned, deliberate, and coldly calculated."
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
Justice Fuerst added that Vasiliev's actions were "far from victimless crimes" and that he was "motivated by his own greed."
The 34-year-old Russian-Canadian, who moved from Moscow more than 20 years ago, admitted to being a ransomware hacker who held sensitive computer data hostage in exchange for ransom payments from victims, including businesses in Saskatchewan, Montreal and Newfoundland.
The court heard Vasiliev was initially arrested about a year and a half ago when police busted him inside his Bradford home, catching him in the act.
U.S. investigators, who had been watching Vasiliev for two years, said he was sitting at a table inside his garage while on a laptop, committing cyber crimes as part of an international ransomware group called LockBit.
The court heard Vasiliev tried to extort the three Canadian companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars each between 2021 and 2022, paralyzing them while encrypting their computer systems and financial information.
His lawyer said he became a cyber criminal while at home during the pandemic.
According to U.S. justice officials in New Jersey, the LockBit group Vasiliev admitted to being associated with made at least $100 million in ransom demands and took tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments from at least 1,000 cyber attacks on victims in the U.S. and globally.
Last month, the Justice Department announced that Vasiliev and four other alleged LockBit cybercriminals had been charged for their participation in the LockBit conspiracy.
Vasiliev consented to extradition to the U.S., where he's facing more cybercrime charges, including conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands.
Justice Fuerst ordered Vasiliev to fully pay back more than $860,000 in restitution to his Canadian victims.
The court heard that while Vasiliev awaits extradition to New Jersey, his family plans to relocate back to Russia.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.