NEW YORK — (CNN) A group of U.S. stock traders teamed with Ukrainian-based computer hackers to gain access to corporate press releases to trade on news before it was public.
The group allegedly made $30 million in illegal profits on the trades. Nine individuals face charges in two federal indictments, one that was unsealed in New Jersey Tuesday morning and another expected later in Brooklyn.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is also expected to announce civil charges.
The three press release distributors that were hacked were Marketwired, PR Newswire and Business Wire.
They are widely used by the nation’s largest corporations to announce earnings reports, mergers and acquisitions, and other news that moves their stock.
Business Wire is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
The trades were linked to news releases from a wide range of companies including Boeing, Hewlett Packard, Ford Motor, Bank of Amercia and Home Depot.
The hacking took place between 2010 and 2013, according to the indictment.
Federal authorities from numerous agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, worked on the investigation.
The N.J. indictment named two Ukrainian hackers and three stock traders living in Alpharetta, Ga.
There were also four other unindicted co-conspirators who were involved in securities trading on the hacked releases, including one former stock broker.
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