Jaisankar Marimuthu, 35, a native of Chennai, India, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, and to one count of aggravated identity theft in U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Marimuthu, who was arrested in Hong Kong and extradited to the U.S., faces up to seven years in prison and a fine of US$500,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26.

Marimuthu was part of a conspiracy operated out of Thailand and India from February to December 2006, the DOJ said in a press release.

Marimuthu and his associates hacked into U.S. brokerage accounts and made large purchases of thinly traded securities, the DOJ said. After the hackers had pumped up the price of the securities through the bogus trading activity, they sold their holdings at a profit, the agency said.

The DOJ has identified at least 95 customers and nine brokerage firms in the U.S. as victims.