WASHINGTON: According to a letter filed in court by his lawyer, an Israeli private detective held in New York since 2019 on charges of involvement in a hacker-for-hire conspiracy wants a plea offer. The unprecedented case has shed light on the ramifications of India’s covert but flourishing cyberespionage sector.
According to federal prosecutors, Aviram Azari, a jailed investigator, orchestrated a series of hacking missions against American corporations based in New York through unnamed third parties, utilizing bogus websites and phishing messages to collect email account passwords.
While the indictment does not name the hackers, five persons familiar with the matter said Azari is being prosecuted in connection with BellTroX InfoTech Services in New Delhi. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-cyber-mercenaries-exclusive/exclusive-obscure-indian-cyber-firm-spied-on-politicians-investors-worldwide-idUSKBN23G1GQ, which Reuters reported was behind a hacking campaign targeting lawyers, government officials, businessmen, investors, and activists around the world last year. According to court filings, Azari is charged with hacking conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. On June 11, Azari’s attorney, Barry Zone, wrote to Manhattan U.S. District Judge John Koeltl, saying that his client is now “in a position to engage in substantive plea conversations and negotiations with the government.”
The letter requests that a case conference scheduled for Aug. 9 be postponed so that the parties can “engage in what we believe would be successful plea discussions.”
Zone declined to speak further. The Manhattan office of the United States Attorney declined to comment. Since last year, emails and phone calls to BellTroX CEO Sumit Gupta and other workers have gone unanswered. Reuters previously claimed, citing former agents, that BellTroX was hired by Western private detectives working for law firms and rich individuals.
According to the operators, BellTroX is one of several India-based organizations that provide hacking services to a global clientele.
According to three persons briefed on the inquiry who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the US government is investigating whether Americans recruited companies, including BellTroX, to spy on US environmental activists.
(Raphael Satter contributed reporting; Christopher Bing and Joel Schectman contributed further reporting; Grant McCool edited the piece.)/nRead More