Oleg Korniev

Introduction

Oleg Korniev, 42, a dual citizen of Ukraine and Russia, pleaded guilty on 8 October 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina to running an international money-laundering organization that laundered millions of dollars stolen from United States victims by cybercriminals around the world — pleading to conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit access device theft, and aggravated identity theft. His organization, “Your Mule Cashout” (YMCO), recruited over 15,000 U.S.-based money mules and laundered at least $10 million stolen by hackers from more than 750 U.S. bank accounts.

Background Information

Korniev was one of the leaders of YMCO, which created, maintained, and operated an elaborate system of money mules and internet infrastructure that allowed hackers who had stolen money from U.S. companies’ bank accounts to conceal the thefts and move the money abroad — primarily to countries in Eastern Europe — in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds. The mules were U.S. residents deceived into believing they worked for legitimate companies making genuine transfers: receive payments into personal accounts, withdraw, wire the funds to the fake company’s “partners” overseas. The mules processed stolen proceeds and were never paid for their services.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Pleaded guilty. Korniev admitted all five counts on 8 October 2026, conceding $14.7 million in victim losses and at least $7 million personally laundered.

As part of his plea, Korniev admitted that YMCO was responsible for over $14.7 million in actual and intended losses by confirmed victims, that he intended to launder over $9.7 million from cybercriminals, and that he did launder at least $7 million. He ran the operation like a company: he helped develop YMCO’s policies and procedures; managed, hired, and fired employees; rewarded and punished employees based on performance; and secured illegal services supporting the network. He was arrested in the Republic of Georgia and agreed to provide full restitution to known victims and to forfeit the cash seized from him at his arrest. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said “money mules play crucial roles in cybercrime, so the Justice Department pursues mules and their recruiters wherever they operate and however long it takes.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

Four other YMCO participants were previously arrested overseas, extradited to the Western District of North Carolina, and pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy, receiving sentences from around 37 to 63 months and orders to pay over $9.1 million in restitution to U.S. victims. Korniev, as a leader, faces a statutory range of two to 50 years at his still-unset sentencing. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson pledged that operating from outside U.S. borders does not put defendants “beyond the reach of justice,” and FBI Charlotte’s Reid Davis said the FBI had worked “for years” to unravel the operation’s layers.

Current Status

Korniev awaits sentencing, which will be set at a later date, with full restitution and forfeiture obligations baked into his plea. The aggravated-identity-theft count carries its own mandatory consecutive term, and the sentencing judge will weigh the admitted $14.7 million loss figure against the guidelines. The FBI is the investigating agency; Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Warren are prosecuting.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Korniev’s plea dismantles, on paper, the management layer of a 15,000-mule laundering pipeline — and places him, as the admitted policies-and-procedures man of YMCO, at the center of one of the larger cyber-laundering prosecutions brought in the Western District of North Carolina. A Ukrainian-Russian dual citizen arrested in Georgia and extradited to face a five-count plea, he now faces up to 50 years and a restitution bill measured in the millions.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of North Carolina, “Ukrainian-Russian Dual Citizen Pleads Guilty to Running International Money Laundering Organization for Cybercriminals” — source