Second Defendant Pleads Guilty To Hacking Fantasy Sports And Betting Website
Kamerin Stokes, 21, of Memphis, Tennessee, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for his role in a credential stuffing attack that compromised approximately 60,000 user accounts on a
Kamerin Stokes, 21, of Memphis, Tennessee, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for his role in a credential stuffing attack that compromised approximately 60,000 user accounts on a fantasy sports and betting website. Stokes, operating under the alias “TheMFNPlug,” purchased stolen accounts with a combined value exceeding $125,000 and resold access to them via an online “Shop,” enabling thieves to drain victim funds by adding new payment methods and withdrawing balances. The attack exploited reused passwords from prior data breaches to gain unauthorized access, with hackers then siphoning money through verified new payment accounts. Stokes is scheduled for sentencing on August 15, 2024, facing up to five years in prison; he is the second defendant to plead guilty in the case, following an investigation by the FBI and prosecution by the Southern District of New York’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.
Kamerin Stokes, 21, of Memphis, Tennessee, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for his role in a credential stuffing attack that compromised approximately 60,000 user accounts on a fantasy sports and betting website. Stokes, operating under the alias “TheMFNPlug,” purchased stolen accounts with a combined value exceeding $125,000 and resold access to them via an online “Shop,” enabling thieves to drain victim funds by adding new payment methods and withdrawing balances. The attack exploited reused passwords from prior data breaches to gain unauthorized access, with hackers then siphoning money through verified new payment accounts. Stokes is scheduled for sentencing on August 15, 2024, facing up to five years in prison; he is the second defendant to plead guilty in the case, following an investigation by the FBI and prosecution by the Southern District of New York’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Kamerin Stokes, 21, of Memphis, Tennessee, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for his role in a credential stuffing attack that compromised approximately 60,000 user accounts on a fantasy sports and betting website. Stokes, operating under the alias “TheMFNPlug,” purchased stolen account access from the breach and resold it through his online shop, stealing over $125,000 in funds from victims by exploiting reused passwords and facilitating fraudulent withdrawals. He was one of two defendants prosecuted in the scheme, with the FBI investigating and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York leading the prosecution. Stokes faces a maximum of five years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on August 15, 2024.
Extracted insights
- $125K $125,000 $100K–$1M
- person damian williams
- person kamerin stokes
- person shop under alias themfnplug
- Kamerin Stokes pled guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion
- Kamerin Stokes hacked fantasy sports and betting website accounts
- Kamerin Stokes sold access to approximately 60,000 hacked accounts
- Kamerin Stokes stole hundreds of thousands of dollars
- Kamerin Stokes obtained victim accounts with total value over $125,000
- Kamerin Stokes controlled Shop under alias TheMFNPlug
- Damian Williams announced guilty plea of Kamerin Stokes on April 25, 2024
- Several individuals launched credential stuffing attack on Betting Website on November 18, 2022
- Attackers successfully accessed approximately 60,000 accounts at Betting Website
- Kamerin Stokes faces maximum sentence of five years in prison
- Kamerin Stokes is 21 years old from Memphis, Tennessee
Press Release Second Defendant Pleads Guilty To Hacking Fantasy Sports And Betting Website Thursday, April 25, 2024 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the guilty plea today of KAMERIN STOKES, a/k/a “TheMFNPlug,” in connection with a scheme to hack user accounts at a fantasy sports and betting website (the “Betting Website”) and sell access to those accounts in order to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them. STOKES pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “With today’s guilty plea, this Office has successfully prosecuted a second member of a scheme to hack fantasy sports and betting accounts and sell access to them online. Kamerin Stokes and his co-defendants greedily lined their own pockets by profiting off of harmful hacks that drained victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars and erode the public’s trust in online platforms. Hackers and cybercriminals who sell stolen information online should be warned that this Office is watching and will continue to protect internet-users from malicious actors.” According to the charging documents and other filings and statements made in court On or about November 18, 2022, several individuals launched a “credential stuffing attack” on the Betting Website. During a credential stuffing attack, a cyber threat actor collects stolen credentials, or username and password pairs, obtained from other large-scale data breaches of other companies, which can be purchased on the darkweb. The threat actor then systematically attempts to use those stolen credentials to obtain unauthorized access to accounts held by the same user with other companies and providers in order to compromise accounts where the user has maintained the same password. Here, in connection with the attack on the Betting Website, there was a series of attempts to log into the Betting Website accounts using a large list of stolen credentials. Those individuals successfully accessed approximately 60,000 accounts at the Betting Website (the “Victim Accounts”) through the credential stuffing attack. In some instances, the individuals who unlawfully accessed the Victim Accounts were able to add a new payment method on the account, deposit $5 into that account through the new payment method to verify that method, and then withdraw all the existing funds in the Victim Account through the new payment method (i.e., to a newly added financial account belonging to the hacker), thus stealing the funds in the Victim Account. Access to the Victim Accounts were sold on various websites that traffic in stolen accounts, which are frequently referred to as “Shops.” STOKES controlled his own Shop, used the alias, “TheMFNPlug,” and purchased Victim Accounts in bulk. STOKES obtained Victim Accounts from the Betting Website with a total listed account value of over $125,000 and then offered access to those accounts for sale on his Shop. * * * STOKES, 21, of Memphis, Tennessee, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. STOKES is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Buchwald on August 15, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead and Micah Fergenson are in charge of the prosecution. Contact Nicholas Biase, Lauren Scarff, Shelby Wratchford (212) 637-2600 Updated April 25, 2024 Topic Cybercrime Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 24-147
Press Release Second Defendant Pleads Guilty To Hacking Fantasy Sports And Betting Website Thursday, April 25, 2024 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the guilty plea today of KAMERIN STOKES, a/k/a “TheMFNPlug,” in connection with a scheme to hack user accounts at a fantasy sports and betting website (the “Betting Website”) and sell access to those accounts in order to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them. STOKES pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “With today’s guilty plea, this Office has successfully prosecuted a second member of a scheme to hack fantasy sports and betting accounts and sell access to them online. Kamerin Stokes and his co-defendants greedily lined their own pockets by profiting off of harmful hacks that drained victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars and erode the public’s trust in online platforms. Hackers and cybercriminals who sell stolen information online should be warned that this Office is watching and will continue to protect internet-users from malicious actors.” According to the charging documents and other filings and statements made in court On or about November 18, 2022, several individuals launched a “credential stuffing attack” on the Betting Website. During a credential stuffing attack, a cyber threat actor collects stolen credentials, or username and password pairs, obtained from other large-scale data breaches of other companies, which can be purchased on the darkweb. The threat actor then systematically attempts to use those stolen credentials to obtain unauthorized access to accounts held by the same user with other companies and providers in order to compromise accounts where the user has maintained the same password. Here, in connection with the attack on the Betting Website, there was a series of attempts to log into the Betting Website accounts using a large list of stolen credentials. Those individuals successfully accessed approximately 60,000 accounts at the Betting Website (the “Victim Accounts”) through the credential stuffing attack. In some instances, the individuals who unlawfully accessed the Victim Accounts were able to add a new payment method on the account, deposit $5 into that account through the new payment method to verify that method, and then withdraw all the existing funds in the Victim Account through the new payment method (i.e., to a newly added financial account belonging to the hacker), thus stealing the funds in the Victim Account. Access to the Victim Accounts were sold on various websites that traffic in stolen accounts, which are frequently referred to as “Shops.” STOKES controlled his own Shop, used the alias, “TheMFNPlug,” and purchased Victim Accounts in bulk. STOKES obtained Victim Accounts from the Betting Website with a total listed account value of over $125,000 and then offered access to those accounts for sale on his Shop. * * * STOKES, 21, of Memphis, Tennessee, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. STOKES is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Buchwald on August 15, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead and Micah Fergenson are in charge of the prosecution. Contact Nicholas Biase, Lauren Scarff, Shelby Wratchford (212) 637-2600 Updated April 25, 2024 Topic Cybercrime Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 24-147