back to article Five years in the clink for super-crook who scammed Google, Facebook out of $120m with fake tech invoices

A Lithuanian hacker will spend the next five years behind bars for masterminding a $120m (£92.05m) scam that involved emailing fake IT equipment invoices to Facebook and Google. A US district court in New York on Thursday handed Evaldas Rimasauskas the 60-month sentence, along with a bill for $26,479,079 in restitution, after …

  1. IneptAdept

    He should of just hit normal people

    He would of never got anywhere near 5 years if he had hit Joe Public for these amounts

    Amazing isn't it how it works, the more money you have, the more protection you have

    1. tmTM

      Re: He should of just hit normal people

      $120m taken in the scam.

      £26m in restitution

      Is the remaining money accounted for or is this guy heading to jail laughing his head off?

      1. SketchyScot

        Re: He should of just hit normal people

        I'm pretty sure he's "spent" the rest and that's all they could find so yes he's probably not going to be too bothered about the next 5 years once he gets deported back and picks up the rest of his salary he hid so well.

      2. Cynic_999

        Re: He should of just hit normal people

        By my calculation he walks away with over $93 million.

        Which means that he has got nearly $19 million for every year, or $1.6 million for every month spent in prison. Tax-free

        After release he can retire and live the rest of his life in luxury. Many people have to work in far worse conditions than you'll endure in prison for a tiny fraction of that amount of money.

        Given the victims in this case, I can't even see that he has caused anyone any harm. Therefore I am unusually going to say about a fraudster, "Good for him".

        1. xeroks

          Re: He should of just hit normal people

          As I understand it, money laundering return rates are very poor, so I'm guessing it's not as going to be as much as that.

          1. Roq D. Kasba

            Re: He should of just hit normal people

            Some might say the return rates were criminally low.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: He should of just hit normal people

              *puts little finger at corner of mouth*

              Muaahahahahahahhahahaaaaa.

    2. Contrex

      Re: He should of just hit normal people

      Should of would of?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: He should of just hit normal people

        Who upvoted this comment? FFS.

        "Should have, would have".

    3. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: He should of just hit normal people

      I downvoted you not because I disagree with you but because it's "would have."

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        I'm tired of seeing that confusion as well. Oh well, what do you expect given the sorry state of the US education system ?

        1. SuperGeek

          It's not just the US where people use bad speech. Would Of, Could Of is common everywhere. It's kids typing how they speak. Like when they say, "I done it".

          Annoying, but leopards don't change spots. I blame the parents.

          1. Androgynous Cow Herd

            Bad speech

            Just because some bloke does not speak like a bloody pommie doesn't make his speech bad.. or even "poor"

            1. Just Another SteveO

              Re: Bad speech

              Not sure the argument here is about being a ‘bloody pommie’, more about poor English. Of course, there are lots of ways the language is changing but ‘would of’’ vice ‘would’ve’ just doesn’t make sense whether you want to change the use of English language or not...

            2. Beau
              Holmes

              Re: Bad speech

              Excuse me, but they're not "bloody pommie," nowadays they're Little Brits. Please try and get it right!

          2. DJV Silver badge
            Trollface

            I blame the parents

            Yeah, make the buggers take an IQ test and full English* exam before they are allowed to procreate...

            * other languages are available - see your local country for full details.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: I blame the parents

              ... and before they can vote!

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: I blame the parents

              Do they do exams on English Breakfasts?

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: I blame the parents

                They should, in Scotland they copy it, put a slice of rubbish sausage (it's like a typical greasy spoon sausage but lower resolution and with a lower polygon count) on the side and call it a Scottish Breakfast.

                We need a regional protection on the English Breakfast.

                Sausage (Lincolnshire, rare breed pork)

                Eggs (Two, fried)

                Bacon (Two rashers, smoked, crispy, back bacon)

                Tomato (grilled, pinch of salt)

                Toast (two slices, thick sliced, fucked, black, tons of butter)

                Fried Bread (made with bread as white as caspers taint)

                Black Pudding (Bury, poached, split open with mustard)

                Mushrooms (loads of them, fried in the bacon fat).

                Sauce (brown, HP, tons of it).

                Pot of tea (Yorkshire Gold, strong, infinite sugars, dash of milk, as dark as a Tory health policy).

                Full English. Best served in a cafe in an area you've never been to by someone that automatically hates you for no reason) just off an A road in the middle of nowhere at 5am.

          3. sprograms

            The US spelling is actually "coulda, woulda, shoulda."

            1. herman

              Now, hoo hooda thunk it?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          re. Oh well, what do you expect given the sorry state of the US education system ?

          I don't blame education system, I blame the internets. Over the last 10 years I've seen a HUGE drop in language quality in the UK and one other country in Europe, and that's people using their native language. And not just an average muppet with a nose stuck in his/her mobile phone, but those you'd expect to have an above average of native language master: primary and secondary school teachers - and journalists... Idiocracy, can't wait for a remake :(

          1. DJV Silver badge

            Idiocracy, can't wait for a remake

            You don't have to - it's happening all around us!

        3. SotarrTheWizard

          Hey d00d!!

          We lerns gud in Murica!!! And we gots the self-steem awards to prove it!!

          (Note: and this is why we homeschooled our children. THEY can read and write, do math, and know actual history. The oldest is the de-facto helpdesk at work: Helldesk comes to HER when they're stumped. Both also code far better than I do. . .)

          1. Dan White
            Flame

            Re: Hey d00d!!

            " Math*s* "

            You're welcome...

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Hey d00d!!

            Actual history? US history fits on a fag packet doesn't it?

      2. Eric Olson

        Re: He should of just hit normal people

        Imma gonna leave this right here

        https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/whats-worse-than-coulda

    4. itzman

      Re: He should<s> of</s> HAVE just hit normal people

      Tftfy

    5. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      Devil

      He won

      He's almost certain to be given credit for time served awaiting trial, as that's the norm in the US. So he will be out shortly. Good deal for him.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: He should of just hit normal people

      Yes. We call it capitalism. The other method is called socialism...and it sucks...unless you're poor / unmotivated.

  2. Chris G

    Good accounting

    For him to have been able to keep the scam going for two years and to the tune of $120M says a lot about the quality of accounting at FB and Google. He must have thought he had won the lottery.

    1. NonSSL-Login

      Re: Good accounting

      Often greed that gets people. If he had stopped at + 60 million after a year and run away into the night, he would have come out smelling of roses.

      But 5 years for whatever he still has squirrelled away is probably well worth it.

    2. vulture65537

      Re: Good accounting

      > phony invoices that each of the tech giants thought were for real purchases

      Years ago I worked at a place that tried to pay invoices whether they were due or not. The drone I spoke to on one of these occasions was panicking that "they might sue us" while I was telling him the cancellation I had in the correspondence file would keep us safe if they did.

      1. BebopWeBop

        Re: Good accounting

        A remarkable outlier. Most of my clients pay slightly late - just before penalties kick in. A small few (now ex clients) do their best to delay - even over relatively trivial sums.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Good accounting

          Like everything it's path of least resistence, it's easier to pay late than demand money with menaces.

          Do the latter well and they won't f**k with you twice...unless they can't pay...at which point you have a commercial decision to make.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Good accounting

            Can always sell it to a debt collector, some will even pay the amount out standing if its sub <£2K mainly as they will triple that sum in short order adding on various fees etc.....I had several very interested when I was trying to recover a few hundred pounds owed by a client....at least 2 offered to pay the amount outstanding without quibble as they were certain they would get their money and a lot more from my client (a medium sized company)

        2. Roq D. Kasba

          Re: Good accounting

          There are some very noteworthy high street brands who

          1) Unilaterally discount invoices by 3-5% in return for paying them within their contracted period and.or

          2) Unilaterally decide that 105 days to pay to small suppliers is better value to them as a line of free credit than trading honourably.

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Good accounting

          It's called time value of money. You might not have heard of it, but your clients clearly have.

        4. itzman

          Re: Good accounting

          Ford Motor Company had a rule that 120 days was just the start of a negotiation..

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "says a lot about the quality of accounting at FB and Google"

      And their ERP software as well, if invoices had not to match any order...

      1. Tom 7

        Re: "says a lot about the quality of accounting at FB and Google"

        In my experience the reason why the ERP did not flag this up is because there is a general agreement about enabling 'fraud' for reasons of untraceable transactions. I've been in a couple of companies where a mere click of a button would prevent this sort of thing happening but mumbled reasons as to why the button cannot be clicked are bandied about.

  3. chivo243 Silver badge

    5 years

    to plan his next caper, while the balance collects interest. I wonder where he will be doing his time? Someone important also housed in that Pen? Wasn't that a movie plot, guy gets put in prison so he can get close to another crim with better chops?

  4. proto-robbie
    Joke

    Just by coincidence ...

    My Nigerian Bank Official friend has access to the remaining $94M but cannot remove it from his country without your help. If you would care to send him your bank details with a small admin. fee of, say, £1,000 just to check everything works, he would be very grateful.

    1. SuperGeek

      Re: Just by coincidence ...

      "Goooooddd evening sir, this is George Agdgdgwngo, I'm calling from your baahhnnkk! There's been a slight erroohh, and your monies is not safe. Therefahh, I need your bank account numbah, and your sort coode, so I can transfer the monies to a safe account!"

      Kudos to anyone who remembers who George Agdgwngo is and gets the reference! Does Internet Service Providings ring a bell? Those in the UK will get it :)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just by coincidence ...

      I work for HP and was part of the team that brokered the successful and well loved autonomy purchase. This seems entirely above board. I'm in. Where should I post my bank details?

      A/C because I want to get in well before the rest of HPE. I'm gonna be rich!

  5. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Coat

    Nice piece of change for 5 years (time off for good behavior etc)

    The UK "Average" income is £26k a year.

    Assume a working life of 21 to 68 that's £1.222m

    That's $1.588m.

    As Daniel Craig's character in "Layer Cake" says "Do the math."

    1. Dan White

      Re: Nice piece of change for 5 years (time off for good behavior etc)

      I sincerely hope that as a Brit he actually said, "Do the maths"...

  6. Suburban Inmate
    Paris Hilton

    Am I the only one with mixed feelings about him?

    Feelings set 0: Naughty, fraud is bad, breaking laws is bad, some of that money probably ended up funding genuinely nasty people and activities. (unless he really operated alone and wasn't involved in nastiness)

    Feelings set 1: You magnificent bastard!

  7. John Sager

    £92.05M

    Why the pointless precision? £92M is perfectly adequate for a report of this kind, and I would expect journos on El Reg to understand that.

    1. robidy

      Re: £92.05M

      Have a down vote as it's got a point for the accruacy you so fear.

      1. macjules
        Headmaster

        Re: £92.05M

        And a down vote for misspelling 'accuracy'.

        1. robidy

          Re: £92.05M

          That was part of the humour.

  8. PhilipN Silver badge

    The one we get to hear about.

    Probably because he was greedy and pushed his luck.

    Years ago I heard from a mate in the payables unit of a large U.K. company that, routinely, bills below a certain threshold would just be paid blindly because the resources required to check, cross-check etc. outweighed the (relatively) minimal cost, especially if it meant verifying with other departments.

    Coupled with the fact that - came across this more than once with other guys I knew - many large companies particularly those with payments crossing borders** would have VERY shonky invoicing systems in place “somewhere” which meant management were very nervous about a lowly payables clerk - or anybody - asking too many questions..

    **Pssst .... petroleum-related.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The one we get to hear about.

      Indeed. There's probably a whole industry out there doing this discreetly enough not to get noticed.

  9. Cynicalmark
    Pirate

    Irony not lost

    I would give this chap a cigar and sit down to write a screenplay of his escapade.

    Is the irony lost on everyone that this crook shafted two of the biggest tax dodging corporations especially the Zuckerberg spy network? No? Ah well.

    ‘I’ll get mi coat‘

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "shafted two of the biggest tax dodging corporations"

      Probably they setup their accounting in a so complex way to dodge and slow down any tax investigation that even their employee can no longer follow the money and understand what is their scam and what is someone else's....

  10. Reginald Onway

    So then,

    Crime does pay!

    (No doubt has a few $Millions$ stashed under the bed or someplace.)

  11. MrMerrymaker

    He robbed Google and Facebook?

    Seems a hero to me!

  12. miket82
    Happy

    Now that's what I call a decent hourly rate.

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