A ringleader in a multi-million dollar worldwide online scam is going to be spending the next 18 months in "periodic detention" for his part in the plot.
Derek Cheng got that when he plead guilty to "obtaining money by deception" in November, according to Australian news reports – but he also got 15 months in the cage without parole after he was caught hacking into bank Websites and lifting as much as $600,000 through computer viruses that got him passwords to use.
Police here also charged four teenage students in the case, after law enforcement uncovered the e-scam working in Sydney but based in the Russian Republic.
The case is believed to involve a total of 13 Australians including the four teens victimizing 61 people for six figures thus far, but the Australian press said January 11 that law enforcement thinks the stolen total could hit the millions in the final tally.
