Two Queens males conspired with Russian laptop whizzes to hack the taxi dispatch system at JFK Airport in a scheme that allowed drivers to skip to the entrance of the pick-up line, federal prosecutors charged Tuesday.
Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman, each 48, first efficiently hacked the dispatch system in 2019 with the assistance of different unnamed associates, a few of them Russian nationals, based on an indictment filed within the Southern District of New York.
“I do know that the Pentagon is being hacked … So, can’t we hack the taxi trade?” Abayev allegedly wrote to one of many Russians in November 2019.
Following the primary profitable intrusion, Abayev, Leyman and different members of the rip-off gained management of the taxi dispatch system sporadically over the course of the following 12 months, based on the feds.
On days once they managed the system, they'd cost drivers ready to be referred to as to a terminal from a holding lot on the airport $10 to skip the queue — which steadily would have been an hours-long wait, based on the indictment.
The cabbies who shelled out the dough gave the schemers their medallion quantity whereas ready at a central holding lot — and had been then instructed which terminal to go to with a view to skip the road, based on the indictment.
Phrase of the scheme unfold amongst airport hacks — and folks working with Abayev and Leyman used sprawling group chats to let drivers know which days they might pay the price to leap to the entrance of the road.
“Store open,” a member of the scheme would textual content the group chats once they had management of the system for the day.
“Store closed,” they'd write when they didn't, the indictment states.
Abayev, Leyman and their co-conspirators registered as much as 1,000 illegally expedited journeys on a given day, based on the feds.
It’s unclear precisely how a lot they made by way of the scheme — however they allegedly gave the Russian hackers greater than $100,000 of the ill-gotten money.
Abayev and Leyman had been every hit with two counts of conspiracy to commit laptop intrusion and withstand 10 years in jail.
Each had been reduce free on $100,000 bond at their presentments in Manhattan federal court docket Tuesday. They are going to have their journey monitored and won't be allowed to make use of internet-accessible units except they're monitored by pre-trial companies.
It was unclear Tuesday if the 2 had been taxi drivers themselves however Abayev’s identify matched one within the NYC Taxi & Limousine Fee database.
“As alleged within the indictment, these two defendants — with the assistance of Russian hackers — took the Port Authority for a journey,” US Lawyer Damian Williams stated in an announcement.
“For years, the defendants’ hacking saved trustworthy cab drivers from with the ability to choose up fares at JFK within the order through which they arrived,” he added.
Port Authority Inspector Common John Homosexual added: “The Port Authority has zero tolerance for dangerous actors violating the legislation at our amenities.”
An lawyer for Leyman didn't instantly reply. Lawyer info for Abayev was not instantly obtainable.
Further reporting by David Meyer
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