British man in US court over identity theft racket

A BRITISH man who prosecutors say was a member of the hacking collective, known as The Dark Overlord, appeared in a federal court in St Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday following his extradition to face conspiracy and identity theft charges.

Nathan Wyatt, 39, pleaded not guilty to a US District Court indictment handed down in November 2017 accusing the hacking group of stealing sensitive information from St Louis-area companies and demanding ransom to keep it secret.

He was remanded pending further court proceedings.

“Today’s extradition shows that the hackers hiding behind The Dark Overlord moniker will be held accountable for their alleged extortion of American companies,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the US Justice Department’s criminal division said in a statement.

“We are thankful for the close cooperation of our partners in the United Kingdom in ensuring that the defendant will face justice in US court.”

The Justice Department did not say where in the UK Wyatt was taken into custody or if his accomplices in The Dark Overlord had also been arrested.

It was not immediately clear if Wyatt had retained a US defense attorney. According to the indictment, from 2016 Wyatt and other members of The Dark Overlord accessed computers owned by healthcare providers, a medical records company and an accounting firm in St Louis to obtain sensitive information.

The suspects sent e-mails or texts to victims threatening to release the secrets unless ransom was paid in bitcoin.