California brothers grabbed millions from U.S. bank and brokerage accounts

Adrian and Gheorghe Baltaga, 25 and 26-year-old men from Moldova, were arrested in Fresno, Calif. on Oct. 29.

Their scheme allegedly involved stealing login credentials for brokerage accounts of Fidelity Investments customers, and then setting up fraudulent automated clearing house (ACH) links between victim accounts and prepaid debit card accounts the Baltagas controlled.

Next, the men used the debit cards to purchase money orders from MoneyGram and the U.S. Postal Service, which then were deposited into different accounts that they could pull cash from using ATM cards.

Sources familiar with the investigation say the brothers executed a 2012 cyberheist against a Maryland title company that was robbed of $1.7 million.

ThreatWatch is a regularly updated catalog of data breaches successfully striking every sector of the globe, as reported by journalists, researchers and the victims themselves.