The man behind an international organization that laundered money for cybercriminals with the help of more than 15,000 unwitting money mules pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. federal court. 

Oleg Korniev, a 42-year-old dual citizen of Ukraine and Russia, was a principal of Your Mule Cashout, or “YMCO,” which from 2007 until 2014 set up a sophisticated network of mules in the U.S., as well as Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Australia. YMCO recruited people using websites for fake companies that advertised job opportunities.    

Applicants went through a seemingly legitimate hiring process that involved an employment test, contract and company policy review. They were required to upload their bank details into a fictitious company website and were told their job was to receive money into their accounts and then transfer it to legitimate company accounts overseas.