In April 2025, Mohamad Shaker — the head of the largest boiler room in German cybercriminal Uwe Lenhoff’s vast cybercrime empire — was sentenced to 8 years in prison by a German court. Shaker's conviction marks another milestone in dismantling one of Europe’s largest cybercrime organizations. Yet, while some lieutenants have faced justice, the key facilitators — including executives of Payvision and the Amsterdam-based money laundering network — remain untouched.
The first trial in the so-called Veltyo Cybercrime Scheme was held in Saarbruecken, Germany. The defendants were two Kosovans, Betim Tasholli, Azem Spahiu, and the Syrian Mohamad Shaker. Tasholli was the boiler room manager in Pristina, Shaker was responsible for the boiler room in Prague, and Spahiu was responsible for coordinating affiliate marketing around the scam brands Option888, ZoomTrader, TradoVest, or XMarkets. The Court sentenced Azem Spahiu to a 12-year prison term. Tasholli and Shaker are allegedly on the run.
The E&G Bulgaria Cybercrime Scheme is dealt with by German prosecutor Nino Goldbeck in Bamberg. The German prosecutor informed that the boiler room agent Sasa Siler has also been charged for allegedly defrauding German-speaking victims with OptionStarsGlobal, XTraderFX, or Trade Capital. The mastermind behind E&G Bulgaria was the Israeli Gal Barak with his wife Marina Barak and their partners Gery Shalon and Vladislav Smirnov.
The first trial in the so-called Veltyo Cybercrime Scheme is currently taking place in Saarbruecken, Germany. The defendants are two Kosovans, Betim Tasholli and Azem Spahiu, and the Syrian Mohamad Shaker. Tasholli was the boiler room manager in Pristina, Shaker was responsible for the boiler room in Prague and Spahiu was responsible for the coordination of affiliate marketing around the scam brands Option888, ZoomTrader, TradoVest, or XMarkets. Affiliate marketing was carried out by Miriam Wewermann and Benjamin Wewermann.