Iranian Hack Attack In Morris Co. Ends In Criminal Charges

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Three Iranian citizens are facing federal charges for allegedly hacking computers in the United States, including in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where victims included an accounting firm in Morris County, a domestic violence shelter and a township in Union County.

According to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday, the suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, intentional damage to computers and transmitting demands.

The men were identified as Mansour Ahmadi, 34; Ahmad Khatibi Aghda, 45; and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, 30. All are residents of Iran, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

The victims in New Jersey included an unnamed municipality in Union County and an accounting firm in Morris County, according to court documents.

“These defendants may have been hacking and extorting victims – including critical infrastructure providers – for their personal gain, but the charges reflect how criminals can flourish in the safe haven that the Government of Iran has created and is responsible for,” Sellinger said.

In Morris County, hackers in February and March launched an encryption attack, causing an accounting firm’s network to connect with their server.

According to police, they used a known vulnerability to gain unauthorized access and then used a specific hacking tool to connect to a server registered to Nickaein and steal data.

The defendants launched an encryption attack on the accounting firm in March 2022; after denying access to some of its systems, Aghda demanded $50,000 in cryptocurrency and threatened to sell the data on the black market, Sellinger said.

According to the indictment, on March 16, Aghda allegedly emailed the Morris County firm, saying, "if you don't want to pay, I can sell your data on the black market. This choice is yours."

According to the indictment, prosecutors obtained documented evidence of the conspiracy when Ahmadi emailed an unnamed person containing timesheets for hours worked by Ravari, Aghda, and others.

All three hackers have been charged with one count of conspiring to commit fraud, one count of damaging a protected computer, and one count of transmitting a demand in relation to damaging a protected computer; the hacker involved in the Union Township incident additionally faces a second count of damaging a protected computer.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. The charge of intentional damage to protected computers carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years. The charge of transmitting a ransom demand carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, Sellinger said.

“I want the people of New Jersey, and across the country, to know that the FBI is working tirelessly every day to protect you from people and things you may never see,” Special Agent in Charge of the Newark Division James Dennehy said. “The days of hiding behind a keyboard and perpetrating crimes against the American people without consequence are waning, and we will bring the full force of the American Justice system to disrupt your criminal behavior.”