U.K. man pleads guilty to hacking scheme that stole $8 million

Crime U.K. man pleads guilty to hacking scheme that stole $8 million in virtual currency from victims across U.S. By Cara Tabachnick Cara Tabachnick News Editor Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com Read Full Bio Cara Tabachnick April 18, 2026 / 10:19 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A U.K. man pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a hacking scheme that stole $8 million in virtual currency from victims across America.Tyler Robert Buchanan, 24, of Dundee, Scotland, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. He appeared in the Central District of California's federal court. Federal prosecutors said that Buchanan and several co-conspirators ran the scheme from September 2021 to April 2023. They primarily hacked into victims' phones with phishing messages that appeared to be from the victim's company or a contracted supplier. The text messages often said that the employees' accounts were about to be deactivated and asked them to click on a link. When victims opened these links, they were directed to fraudulent websites designed to mimic legitimate ones. Upon entering their personal information, Buchanan and his co-conspirators were able to exploit the confidential data to access virtual wallets and steal the currency, according to prosecutors. Buchanan and his co-conspirators targeted at least 45 companies in the United States and abroad, including Canada, India, and the United Kingdom, court documents said. Buchanan is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on August 21, where he faces a maximum penalty of 22 years in federal prison.Federal prosecutors said Buchanan's co-consp...