A Canadian man accused of being part of a Russian group that staged a massive hacking of Yahoo Inc. in 2014 has been found guilty and sentenced to five years in jail.

Karim Baratov (pictured) was one of four people indicted U.S. Department of Justice in March 2017 and was accused of working for Russian intelligence agents in the now infamous hack of Yahoo in 2014. That involved the theft of account details of 500 million users but ultimately may have come in at a staggering 3 billion accounts.

Baratov pleaded guilty to nine charges as part of a plea deal that included his admitting his role in the hacking and that the hack was carried out with the assistance of people representing the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

Along with his five years in jail, Presiding Judge Vince Chhabria also imposed $250,000 fines for each of the nine charges, a total of $2.25 million, according to Forbes.

The trial revealed that Baratov sold his hacking services in darknet forums and operated as a “hacker for hire” who later became linked to the Russian government in a concerted effort to obtain credentials that could be used in future breaches.

“The sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of hacking for hire,” Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse said in a statement. “Hackers such as Baratov ply their trade without regard for the criminal objectives of the people who hire and pay them. These hackers are not minor players; they are a critical tool used by criminals to obtain and exploit personal information illegally. In sentencing Baratov to five years in prison, the Court sent a clear message to hackers that participating in cyber attacks sponsored by nation states will result in significant consequences.”

Photo: Karim Baratov/Facebook