A former software engineer of Microsoft accused of stealing more than $10 million from the company has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
The defendant, Volodymyr Kvashuk, committed 18 felonies. So there were five categories scams, six counts of money laundering, two counts of identity theft, two counts of filing false tax returns, one count of mail fraud, accessing a protected computer.
Kvashuk worked as a Microsoft contractor before becoming an employee in August 2016. He was then fired in June 2018 when the company discovered its rich activity.
According to records filed in the case, Kvashuk used his testing privileges to steal “currency stored value”, such as digital gift cards. He then resold what he stole online, and with the proceeds bought a $1,6 million lakefront home and a $160.000 Tesla, according to the Justice Department.
For these thefts, Kvashuk used three test email accounts linked to other employees in an attempt to cover up any digital traces of him.
“This case required sophisticated, technological skills to investigate and prosecute, and I am pleased that our law enforcement partners and the District Attorney's Office USA they have the necessary skills to bring offenders to justice," said District Attorney Brian Moran.
The defendant also allegedly used a bitcoin "mixing" service in an attempt to hide the source of the funds that went into his bank and investment accounts. In seven months, about $ 2,8 million in bitcoin was transferred to his bank and investment accounts.
In addition to the prison sentence, Kvashuk will have to pay $ 8,3 million in compensation and may be deported to Ukraine after his imprisonment.
When his (half) sentence is over, I see him take over as president of… Greek bank…