The homo , Joshua Polloso Epifaniou , 21 , a occupier of Nicosia , Cyprus , was apprehend in Cyprus in February 2018 , and is the first gear national Cypriot to be deport to the United States from the island . In a five - reckon bill of indictment charge in Georgia ‘s Northern District , Epifaniou is level with telegram faker , incubate computing machine - connect extorsion , conducting wire pseudo cabal , and data processor fake and indistinguishability thieving conspiracy . Between October 2014 and November 2016 , Epifaniou and Co - conspirator allegedly aim website to buy personal identification data ( PII ) from database , and and then redeem money from website by minatory to cause the slip data populace . The mankind is bear down with stealing data point from respective stage business site in the U.S. let in a innocent television gambling retail merchant , a electronics manufacturer , an online work internet site , and an on-line athletics news site . Epifaniou either falsify exposure to bring in approach to data of occupy , or a Co - coconspirator get at the datum . He so employ proxy waiter to approach e-mail write up , and adjoin victim web site to claim a ransom . He goldbrick dupe in Bitcoin in the number of $ 56,850 harmonise to the indictment . Two of the dupe put up damages of Sir Thomas More than $ 530,000 from the hack - colligate remedy costs . In the Arizona territorial dominion , Epifanou is charge with prevail information from a saved computing machine , machinate to commit computing device hack on , minacious to scathe a saved electronic computer , and designed impairment to a protected information processing system in a 24 - number bill of indictment . fit in to the bill of indictment , Epifaniou was hack on into Phoenix database , Ripoff Study ( ROR ) , place in Arizona , in October 2016 . He touch ROR ‘s CEO the adjacent calendar month , endanger to leak out the steal datum and call for defrayment of a $ 90,000 redeem . A in private owned and move for - earnings internet site , ROR leave anyone over the senesce of 14 to sound off about line or entity but does not take drug user to expose their straight identity operator . These ill can come out on Google , thereby potentially damage the target entity ’s visibility . Epifaniou reportedly partner with an employee at a hunting locomotive engine selling loyal between October 2016 and May 2017 to encounter clientele that would be interest in polish off annotate mail on ROR ’s web web site . The two consign between $ 3,000 and $ 5,000 for those firm to unlawfully edit each charge from the ROR database . They as well reportedly erase at least 100 story from the website . Epifaniou is set up to be arraign on Monday , July 20 .