American prosecutors charged several people in a massive cyber crime scheme that netted $45 Million within just a few hours.  But the overall crime ring is still out there.

The US Justice Department says the eight defendants made up the New York City cell of a global cyber criminal organization that stole Mastercard debit card data from two Middle Eastern banks.  The ring fed that data to proxies who then made more than 40,500 withdrawals at automated teller machines in 27 countries.  The proxies then laundered the cash on luxury purchases, and sent a portion of the money back to the international ringleaders.

The  suspects allegedly made nearly 3,800 separate transactions to withdraw the $2.8 million.  That makes it the second largest theft on record in New York City, surpassed only by the 1978 Lufthansa heist made famous in the movie "Goodfellas."

The National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates and the Bank of Muscat in Oman issued those Mastercard Debit Cards.

Seven of the suspects are all US citizens and residents of Yonkers, just outside of New York City.  An eighth defendant charged in the indictment, Alberto Yusi Lajud-PeIna, was murdered in the Dominican Republic last month.