The Justice Department said Wang was accused of using a botnet to hack more than 19 million devices in nearly 200 countries.
“Wang created malware that compromised millions of home computers around the world and then sold access to the infected computers to cybercriminals,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole Argentieri.
She said criminals used this access to hide their identities and “commit a variety of crimes anonymously”. This includes fraud, child exploitation, harassment and even bomb threats.
It was also estimated that more than 500,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims were sent from computers under his control, resulting in losses of more than $5.9 billion (£4.6 billion).
The Justice Department accused Wang of using the proceeds to purchase $60 million worth of luxury assets and said it seized a Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce, two BMWs and several watches, as well as bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
He said he has also purchased properties in the United States, St. Kitts and Nevis, China, Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
Law enforcement agencies in Singapore and Thailand and tech giant Microsoft were among the organizations that helped with the investigation.
Mr. Wang is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit substantive computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
If found guilty on all counts, he could face up to 65 years in prison.
