Canadian Man Extradited

Rochester, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Ryan James Roach, 35 of Saskatchewan, Canada, and Mathiew James Stubbings, 41, of Ontario, Canada, with conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer and to cause damage to a protected computer, obtaining information from a protected computer, and intentional damage to a protected computer, which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the indictment, between June 2016, and December 2019, Roach and Stubbings conspired to engage in a scheme to hack into computers, steal login credentials, and secretly mine cryptocurrency for financial gain. They used virtual private servers in multiple countries, which were registered under false names. These servers transmitted malware and mining software to victim computers and stored stolen login credentials. Victims of the scheme included educational institutions in New York, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. Some of the computers damaged by the defendants were located at an institution of higher learning in the Western District of New York. Roach and Stubbings damaged 10 or more protected computers during a one-year period, causing a loss of at least $5,000.

To carry out the scheme, Roach and Stubbings surreptitiously accessed victim computers without authorization, deployed malware to gain control, stole victim login credentials, exfiltrated the data to servers that they controlled, and forcing victim computers to use their processing power to mine cryptocurrency for the financial benefit of the defendants. Roach and Stubbings targeted educational institutions in the United States that had supercomputers and researched security vulnerabilities in the victim computer networks, using a variety of methods to gain access, including using a server and compromised computers from another victim to conceal their identities. Once inside a network, Roach and Stubbings used sophisticated techniques and tools to conduct reconnaissance and expand their access within the network.

Roach was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen and was held pending a detention hearing on November 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Extradition proceedings continue in Canada for defendant Stubbings.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire. The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance with securing the arrest and October 28 extradition of Roach from Canada to the United States.       

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.