MOSCOW — Russian authorities have handed over an American fugitive who the U.S. accuses of conspiring to organize the largest cyber attack on Wall Street, according to people familiar with the matter, resolving months of negotiations at a moment of high tension over hacking between Moscow and Washington.
Joshua Aaron, a Maryland native, was put aboard a commercial flight from Moscow to New York on Wednesday after negotiating with U.S. authorities from a migrant detention center near the Russian capital for over seven months, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Aaron and two Israelis are accused of orchestrating what U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan called “securities fraud on cyber steroids” from 2007 to mid-2015. They’re implicated in stealing data from more than 100 million customers from companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and using that information to manipulate stocks and undertake other schemes that netted hundreds of millions of dollars.
Who conducted the actual attacks remains unclear. Court documents link it to an unidentified Russian-speaking hacker, making it possible that Aaron may have information on the hacking to share with U.S. investigators.
