INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES NEWSLETTER SIGNUP My account Log Out Sep 20, 2:19 AM EDT World U.S. Economy & Markets Companies Technology Digital Life Culture Sports Crypto Opinion NEWSLETTER My account Log Out US Edition World U.
S. Economy & Markets Companies Technology Digital Life Culture Sports Crypto Opinion Listings & More Spotlight Glossary SMB Forum Glossary K-Wave CEO Spotlight Editions Australia Edition India Edition International Edition Singapore Edition United Kingdom United States NEWSLETTER Follow Us Editions Australia Edition India Edition International Edition Singapore Edition United Kingdom United States Crypto Crypto Assets BTC Feds Nab Luxurious Duo Who Stole, Laundered Over $230M In Bitcoin By Marvie Basilan @marvbuzzilan Published 09/20/24 AT 2:19 AM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Share on Flipboard Share on Pocket Two Bitcoin fraudsters were arrested Wednesday, cutting short their luxurious lifestyle. Bybit/flickr.
com KEY POINTS The indictment said Lam and Serrano wanted to 'unjustly enrich themselves' They stole over 4,100 $BTC and lived in luxury – international travel and cars among other purchases ZachXBT revealed how Lam had been giving out Birkin bags to girls The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put an end to the luxurious lifestyle of two scammers after they were arrested and charged for conspiring to steal and launder more than $230 million in Bitcoin from a victim in Washington, D.C. Malone Lam, 20, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, were arrested Wednesday night in Miami and appeared in court Thursday.
Lam uses the online monikers "Anne Hathaway" and "$$$," while Serrano went by "VersaceGod" and @Skidstar" to facilitate their fraudulent operations . Enriching Themselves with Victim's Money According to indictment documents, Lam and Serrano pulled off a month-long scam operation with other co-conspirators from at least August through September. The accused "gained access to victim cryptocurrency accounts and unlawfully transferred victim funds into their possession.
" They then laundered the illicitly obtained funds through various crypto exchanges and mixing services in an attempt to obscure the source of the digital assets. The indictment further noted that the conspiracy was started so Lam, Serrano, and their co-conspirators can "unjustly enrich themselves by targeting victims for cryptocurrency thefts and fraud and laundering the proceeds." Judge Sides With CFTC In $120M Case Against Ponzi-Like Crypto Investment Scheme Read more Judge Sides With CFTC In $120M Case Against Ponzi-Like Crypto Investment Scheme A Luxurious Lifestyle from Pilfered Bitcoin Lam, Serrano, and the other conspirators contacted a victim from D.
C. on Aug. 18, 2024 and fraudulently obtained more than 4,100 Bitcoin worth over $230 million at the time.
The duo, along with their co-conspirators then went global trotting, hung out at nightclubs and availing of the services, and purchased luxury items, including cars, jewelry, watches, and designer handbags. They also used the stolen $BTC to pay for their rent in Los Angeles and Miami, as per the indictment. Lam and Serrano are expected to forfeit "any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable" upon conviction, the indictment stated.
Crypto Sleuth Goes into Shocking Details Prominent crypto researcher ZachXBT provided an in-depth account of how Lam, Serrano, and their co-conspirators carried out the fraud that saw a single victim lose hundreds of millions in BTC. He identified another co-conspirator as Veer Chetal, a.k.
a "Wiz." 1/ An investigation into how Greavys (Malone Iam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), and Box (Jeandiel Serrano) stole $243M from a single person last month in a highly sophisticated social engineering attack and my efforts which have helped lead to multiple arrests and millions frozen. pic.
twitter.com/dcY1e9xsPd — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 19, 2024 He revealed how Lam lived "a flashy lifestyle" after stealing the victim's Bitcoins, purchasing more than 10 vehicles and "giving out Birkin bags to girls." Birkin bags cost tens of thousands of dollars each.
ZachXBT also published a private video recording that showed "the live reaction by multiple of the threat actors to receiving $238M." 7/ Greavys (Malone) lives a flashy lifestyle with the stolen funds having purchased 10+ cars and going out to clubs in LA and Miami with friends spending $250K-500K / night and giving out Birkin bags to girls. During video clips and in chats multiple people refer to him as.
.. pic.
twitter.com/6LmOJd7i3r — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 19, 2024 US Tops List of Hardest-Hit Countries in Crypto-related Security Complaints News of Lam and Serrano's arrest comes about a week after the FBI announced its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 69,000 complaints from the public in relation to fraud with a cryptocurrency nexus in 2023. Of the said complaints, a staggering 57,762 came from Americans, making the U.
S. the top country in the world to have seen complaints related to crypto frauds and scams . To prove urgency of the matter, Canada is on the second spot, with 1,236 complaints logged last year.
Fraudsters, Scammers Evolving Tricks Blockchain analytics and security firm Chainalysis previously warned that scammers and fraudsters in the crypto space have evolved with time. They employ various tactics to steal digital assets and can even "regenerate" operations that they previously ended. Pig-butchering scams, wherein victims are lured into investing their crypto, remains a major problem in the digital assets space.
From 2020 through February 2024, it is estimated that $75 billion was lost to pig-butchering operations. Read more South Korean Crypto Executive Stabbed During $800M Fraud Trial US Sanctions Cambodian Tycoon For Human Trafficking And Investment Scams SEC Sues NovaTech, Promoters Over Alleged $650M Crypto Fraud That Affected Many Haitian-Americans © Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.
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