Nineteen individuals, mostly from northern Texas, was indicted Friday in an alleged 15-million-U.S.-dollar international cybercrimes conspiracy scam, Xinhua reported.
The federal indictment, announced Friday by U.S. Attorney James Jacks, charged the 19 with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
Of the 19 defendants, including two from Canada and eastern Europe, 15 were also charged with fraud related to electronic mail.
The indictment alleges that from 2003 to 2009, the defendants conspired to create shell companies to defraud telecommunications companies, credit reporting agencies and other services providers.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison and up to one-million-dollar fine.