A former Microsoft engineer, Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Kvashuk from Washington state is facing 20 years behind bars after being found guilty of attempting to defraud Microsoft of $10 million. Kvashuk was initially a contractor for Microsoft before being hired as a full-time employee in August 2016. Kvashuk was convicted on Tuesday for a total of 18 felonies including wire fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft, filing false tax returns, mail fraud, access device fraud, and access to a protected computer in furtherance of fraud.
Kvashuk worked on Microsoft’s online retail sales platform when he used his IT access to steal digital gift cards and other value before selling them on the internet for a total of millions of dollars. Kvashuk also allegedly set up test email accounts under the names of other Microsoft employees, using Bitcoin mixing services to hide his tracks. According to the DoJ, over the course of seven months, Kvashuk transferred over $2.8 million in Bitcoin to his accounts, eventually buying a $1.6 million home and a $160,000 Tesla car.
Read More: Microsoft Engineer Pleads Guilty to $10m Fraud Scheme
