In a dramatic unraveling that has captured the attention of the global financial cybercrime crime scene, Gery "Gabi" Shalon, a Georgia-born Israeli citizen, stands as a significant figure. Charged in a 23 count Indictment by U.S. prosecutors on November 9, 2015, Shalon's alleged crimes span computer hacking, securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal online gambling, illegal money transmitting business, and money laundering.
Cybercrime is a lethal threat to our global online society. Schemes like Scamadviser position themselves as bastions against online scams. Scamadviser, under the stewardship of founder Jorij Abraham, ostensibly battles the digital scourge of scams. Not content with Scamadviser alone, Abraham also pilots the Global Anti Spam Alliance (GASA), amplifying his anti-scam crusade. Yet, beneath this veneer of virtuous combat lies a perplexing association that beckons rigorous scrutiny.
Nino Goldbeck became known to FinTelegram readers as the chief prosecutor of Gal Barak, a/k/a, Wolf of Sofia, and his cybercrime organization in Germany. The Association of German Criminal Investigators recently awarded Goldbeck its highest honor, "Bul le mérite." However, the honor of crashing the Wolf of Sofia's cybercrime organization belongs not only to Goldbeck but also to an enabling whistleblower who exposed the fraud via FinTelegram. Here is the true story.
The Georgia-born Israeli Gery Shalon has been a prominent figure in the world of cybercrime, especially after being labeled as the alleged mastermind behind some of the most significant hacks on the US financial system in the early 2010s. Shalon was also the mastermind behind Gal Barak's cybercrime organization. He allegedly made a deal with the U.S. prosecution and snitched on his former partners.
Gal Barak, an Israeli cybercrime mastermind, sentenced to four years in prison in Vienna in Sept 2020 for investment fraud and money laundering, was charged in Germany in 2021. His Austrian lawyer appealed the extradition, citing the principle of ne bis in idem. In March 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Barak could be charged in Germany. The German Court still works on the new schedule. Hence, victims are still waiting for justice and restitution payments!
We reported last week on the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the case of Gal Barak. The CJEU stated that Barak and his accomplices could be charged in any EU member state where they defrauded citizens with broker scams. Thus, according to the information available, the German prosecutor's office around Nino Goldbeck will move forward quickly with the indictment of Gal Barak and his wife, Marina Barak. A trial in Germany could begin in the fall.
Chen Ganon was one of the former lieutenants of the convicted principal of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria, Gal Barak. He was the manager in charge of the broker scam SafeMarkets and has managed the boiler rooms in Belgrade and Sarajevo. Until recently, only the Austrian law enforcement prosecuted Ganon. Now the Bamberg prosecutor's office also prosecutes Ganon in Germany.
In October 2021, the Bamberg Prosecutor's Office coordinated an international Action Day in Ukraine. They dismantled a cybercrime organization that operated the broker scams Nobel Trade a/k/a Nobeltrade and Capital Trade via boiler rooms in Ukraine and defrauded European consumers. The 33-year-old Israeli and suspected principal Snir Moshe Hananya was arrested and his luxury cars seized. German prosecutors have declared war on scammers.
This is the second part of the great interview with EFRI co-founder and principal Elfriede Sixt. She explains the background of the development of EFRI and FinTelegram. In addition, she describes the threats and defamations of cybercrime activists who try to destroy the reputation. The fight against cybercrime and scammers has become a life mission for Elfriede Sixt, as she explains.
The trial of Israeli citizen Tal-Jacki Fitelzon is currently underway in Munich. He was one of Gal Barak's lieutenants in his cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria. Three former boiler room employees of E&G Bulgaria had already been sentenced to 33, 48, and 54 months in prison in Germany. According to one of the responsible public prosecutors, Bavaria-based Nino Goldbeck, some 30 suspected cybercrime activists sit currently in prisons in pre-trial detention worldwide at the request of German and Austrian law enforcement.
We have been analyzing the cybercrime investigations and indictments of the Austrian and German law enforcement agencies. Most recently, the public prosecutors' offices in Bamberg, Rostock, and Cologne caused a stir with action days in Israel, Cyprus, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, and other jurisdictions. The respective law enforcement agencies investigate different cases but share their findings and coordinate their actions and charges. They do not prosecute individual scams but work on the hypothesis of criminal organizations.