AUSTIN, Tex. (US Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas) — An Armenian man made his initial appearance in an Austin federal court Tuesday, March 24, after being extradited to the US on criminal charges related to his alleged role in an infostealer scheme, announced US.Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons.
According to court documents, Hambardzum Minasyan allegedly conspired with others to enrich himself by developing and administering RedLine, one of the most prevalent infostealing malware variants in the world, which has previously been used to conduct intrusions against major corporations. When executed, RedLine would steal data, including access devices, from victims’ computers.
A three-count indictment alleges the conspirators maintained digital infrastructure, including C2 servers and administrative panels to enable the deployment of the malware by affiliates, and collected payments from RedLine affiliates, allowing the affiliates to use the infostealer against victims. Additionally, they allegedly responded to questions and requests from actual and potential RedLine affiliates, conspired with each other and affiliates to steal and possess the financial information, including access devices, of victims, and laundered the proceeds of cybercrime through cryptocurrency exchanges and other means.
The indictment alleges that Minasyan registered two virtual private servers to host portions of RedLine’s infrastructure as well as two internet domains in support of the RedLine scheme. He also allegedly created repositories on an online file sharing site that were used to distribute RedLine to affiliates. In November 2021, he allegedly registered a cryptocurrency account that was used to receive payments from RedLine affiliates.
In October 2024, the Department of Justice joined the Netherlands, Belgium, Eurojust and other partners in announcing an international disruption effort against the current version of RedLine Infostealer. International authorities have created a website at www.operation-magnus.com with additional resources for the public and potential victims. At the same time, the Justice Department unsealed charges against alleged co-conspirator Maxim Rudometov, one of the developers and administrators of RedLine Infostealer.
Minasyan is charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for access device fraud and up to 20 years in prison for the other two counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
