A Georgia resident has been sentenced to one year in prison after stealing $3.4 billion in bitcoin, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has announced. April 14th.
Zhong stole billions in BTC in 2012
Authorities said James Zhong first committed wire transfer fraud against Silk Road in 2012.
Through its actions, Zhong stole over 51,680 BTC from darknet markets. That amount he was worth $3.4 billion in 2012 and today he is worth $1.57 billion.
Zhong initially created multiple Silk Road accounts and funded them with small amounts of Bitcoin. He then quickly executed over 140 transactions to force his system to release Bitcoin into his account.
Zhong then transferred the stolen Bitcoins to multiple addresses to hide ownership of the funds. He also used his Bitcoin mixer to thwart tracking attempts.
During the attack, he did not use the Silk Road Marketplace to buy or sell items.
Zhong then benefited from the Bitcoin Cash hard fork in 2017, gaining additional funding. He exchanged all his bitcoin cash for bitcoin.
Zhong hid has been around for over 10 years
Zhong hid his actions for over a decade, and law enforcement did not recover most of the stolen bitcoin until they searched Zhong’s residence in November 2021.
Zhong hid his earnings in a floor safe, a single-board computer hidden under a blanket, and a can of Cheetos popcorn. Bailiffs also recovered various other items of value, including cash, precious metals, and Kathasius’ physical bitcoin.
Zhong will begin abandoning undiscovered Bitcoins in March 2022.
This case is just one of the DOJ’s recent crypto-related actions. The agency has handled cases involving individuals related to various scams, another Silk Road case, the Bitfinex theft, and the OneCoin scam.
Post-Silk Road attackers have been sentenced to one year in prison for stealing $3.4 billion in Bitcoin. First appeared on CryptoSlate.
