DOJ charges 12 more gamer-turned $263M Bitcoin robbers
Another 12 people have been charged for their involvement in a $263 million crypto crime spree that stole 4,100 Bitcoin from a Genesis creditor last August, along with a string of break-ins and money laundering.
The 12 new names, included in a superseding indictment, add to charges originally brought against the main defendant in the case, Malone Lam, on Sept. 19, 2024, the Department of Justice noted in a May 15 statement.
Jeandiel Serrano was named a defendant in the initial indictment but was not included in the superseding one.
The DOJ said several defendants have been arrested, while two others are believed to be living in Dubai.
Many of the suspects, with aliases like “Goth Ferrrari” and “The Accountant,” come from California, mostly aged between 18 and 22.
The group allegedly began operating in October 2023, evolving from friends while playing online games to what the DOJ describes as participating in a “cyber-enabled racketeering conspiracy.”
Hacking, burglarizing and laundering
The DOJ said group members were tasked with everything from hacking databases, cold calling crypto holders to conduct social engineering attacks to even burglarizing houses to steal crypto hardware wallets.
Others were involved in laundering the stolen proceeds, which the DOJ claimed amounted to $263 million.
Over $230 million resulted from a single instance on Aug. 18, 2024, when Lam fraudulently obtained over 4,100 Bitcoin (BTC) from a victim.
Related: Crypto exchange CEO’s daughter fights off brazen kidnappers in Paris
The DOJ said Lam also hacked into another victim’s iCloud account to watch their movements, while defendant Marlon Ferro would break into their house to steal crypto hardware wallets.
Virtual private networks, crypto mixer protocols and exchanges using “peel chains” were used to make it harder to trace the illicit activity, the DOJ said. A peel chain is a money laundering tactic where crypto is transferred through a series of wallets, with small amounts of funds “peeled off” at each step.
They have been charged with RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) as well as offenses involving wire fraud and money laundering.
Gone in 60 seconds
Members of the crypto theft ring allegedly used proceeds to pay for nightclub services — costing up to $500,000 on some nights — 28 exotic cars as expensive as $3.8 million, in addition to luxury handbags, watches, and clothing.
Homes and jets were even rented out with fake identity documents to fund their lavish lifestyles, the DOJ noted.
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The Conservative Party will leave a key human rights treaty if it wins the election, its leader Kemi Badenoch has said.
Ms Badenoch announced the policy to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) ahead of the Conservative Party’s conference next week.
Despite many Tory MPs having expressed displeasure with the treaty, and the court that upholds treaty rights in recent years, it had not been party policy for the UK to exit it.
The move follows a review on the impact of the UK’s ECHR membership conducted by shadow attorney general Baron Wolfson.
Lord Wolfson’s nearly 200-page report said the ECHR had impacted government policy in numerous areas.
The report said this includes limiting government’s ability to address immigration issues, potentially hampering restrictions on climate change policy, and impacting government ability to prioritise British citizens for social housing and public services.
Read more:
Baroness Mone: I have no wish to rejoin Lords as Conservative peer
But leaving the ECHR would “not be a panacea to all the issues that have arisen in recent years”, Lord Wolfson said.
It comes after the Reform Party in August said they would take the UK out of the ECHR if elected.
The Conservatives have increasingly come under threat from Reform and are being trailed in the polls by them.
What is the ECHR?
The ECHR was established in the 1950s, drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust, to protect people from serious human rights violations, with Sir Winston Churchill as a driving force.
It’s 18 sections guarantee rights such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the right to a fair trial, the right to private and family life and the right to freedom of expression.
It has been used to halt the deportation of migrants in 13 out of 29 UK cases since 1980.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA
A political issue
Leaving the ECHR would breach the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the peace settlement deal between the British and Irish governments on how Northern Ireland should be governed.
Labour has in recent days said it was considering how Article 3, the prohibition on torture, and Article 8,
the right to respect for private and family life, are interpreted. The sections have been used to halt deportation attempts.
The Liberal Democrats and Greens are in favour of the ECHR.
A general election is not expected until 2029.
Coinbase said seeking the license is part of its broader effort to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional finance.
Vietnam is one of the leading countries for crypto adoption in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and ranks number four globally, according to Chainalysis.
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