US charges British man over 'hack-to-trade' scheme


FILE PHOTO: A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/FILE PHOTO

(Reuters) - A British man has been arrested and charged by U.S. authorities with hacking into the computers of five companies to obtain details about their expected earnings, and making $3.75 million of illegal profit by trading before results were released.

The U.S. Department of Justice will seek the extradition of Robert Westbrook, 39, of London, to face securities fraud, wire fraud and five computer fraud charges contained in a criminal indictment made public on Friday.

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