The United States has criminally charged three Chinese citizens with generating millions of dollars through hacking into two American law firms.
Iat Hong, Bo Zheng and Chin Hung were charged with conspiracy, insider trading, wire fraud and computer intrusion, US prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Hong, 26, was arrested on Sunday in Hong Kong and charged along with Zheng and Hung in an indictment filed in a federal court in New York City.
According to authorities, an insider trading scheme enabled the three men to make over $4 million in illegal proceeds in less than two years.
Beginning in April 2014, the trio hacked two US law firms and the email accounts of partners at the firms who worked on high-profile mergers and acquisitions, prosecutors said.
They then used the information they gained to buy shares of at least five publicly traded companies before the details were published.
When the acquisitions were announced, they sold off their stocks and made huge…