← Back to front page

      

        SEC source ↗

        

          
          

        


        
      

    




  
RUSSIAN HACKER USED 20 FAKE NAMES TO STEAL $31 MILLION FROM BROKERAGE ACCOUNTS!

  
September 24, 2025


  
  

    

      
      

    

  




  



        


SEC v. Dmitrii Yevgenyevich Kushnarev — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26410, dated September 24, 2025.


The SEC charged a Russian national for orchestrating a multi-year scheme that hacked hundreds of U.S. brokerage accounts. These compromised accounts were used to manipulate stock prices, allowing the defendant to profit from artificial price increases. The scheme involved opening numerous accounts under fake identities and trading in hundreds of securities.




In Plain English
Imagine someone secretly broke into many people's online piggy banks (brokerage accounts). They then used those piggy banks to buy and sell toys (stocks) in a way that made the toys seem more popular and expensive than they really were. The person doing this had their own piggy banks, opened with fake names, where they collected the extra money made from tricking the system.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.


How the Alleged Scheme Worked
  1. Create Fake Identities Starting around March 2014, Dmitrii Yevgenyevich Kushnarev allegedly created over 20 fake identities. These included false names, addresses, and citizenship information, which he used to set up numerous accounts.
  2. Open Many Brokerage Accounts Using these fake identities, Kushnarev opened more than 100 brokerage accounts, both in the U.S. and offshore. These accounts were essential for executing his trading strategy without direct traceability to him.
  3. Hack Retail Accounts Kushnarev, or hackers he worked with, compromised hundreds of U.S. retail brokerage accounts. These accounts were accessed without the owners' knowledge or permission, forming the basis of the manipulation.
  4. Manipulate Thinly Traded Stocks Between 2014 and 2019, the hackers forced the compromised retail accounts to buy specific, thinly traded stocks. This artificial demand drove up the stock prices and trading volume significantly.
  5. Profit from Stock Manipulation As the stock prices were artificially inflated, Kushnarev used his own brokerage accounts (opened under fake names) to sell shares he had previously acquired. This allowed him to profit from the price increases he helped create.
  6. Shift to Options Trading Around 2019 and continuing through mid-2021, Kushnarev changed his focus to options. He began selling out-of-the-money call and put options on NYSE or NASDAQ securities.
  7. Manipulate Options Prices The hacked accounts were then forced to place artificially high bids for these options. This manipulation allowed Kushnarev to sell the options to the compromised accounts at inflated prices.
  8. Trade in Hundreds of Securities In total, the SEC alleges that Kushnarev traded in at least 380 different securities on the same days those securities were targeted by manipulation attacks, highlighting the broad scope of his activities.
  9. Generate Millions in Proceeds Through this scheme, Kushnarev allegedly generated approximately $31 million in gross proceeds and approximately $1.5 million in net profits from his trades.


The Enforcement Action
On September 22, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Russian national Dmitrii Yevgenyevich Kushnarev in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Section 9(a)(2) of the Exchange Act. The SEC alleges that between at least 2014 and 2021, Kushnarev participated in a fraudulent scheme involving account takeovers of hundreds of U.S. retail brokerage accounts. These accounts were used to manipulate the price and trading volume of hundreds of securities listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ, or OTC Markets. Kushnarev allegedly used over 20 fake identities to open over 100 foreign and domestic bank and brokerage accounts, and traded profitably in securities that were simultaneously being manipulated by hackers. He is alleged to have generated approximately $31 million in gross proceeds and $1.5 million in net profits. The SEC’s investigation is ongoing.


Named in this action: Dmitrii Yevgenyevich Kushnarev.


Original SEC litigation release ↗ · Browse all cases