U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 12 individuals for stealing over $263 million in crypto. The individuals are linked to an earlier investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 12 individuals in a racketeering conspiracy involving over $263 million in crypto fraud, money laundering, and home break-ins.
Several of the individuals charged, which includes U.S. nationals and foreign, were arrested in California this week, the DOJ said in a press release on Thursday. The remaining two individuals live abroad. The charges on the individuals range from racketeering, wire fraud to money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
The charges stem from an earlier investigation by the DOJ where a group of scammers were able to spoof a Genesis creditor and siphon off $243 million in digital assets. The scammers then used mixers to launder the stolen funds.
The investigation began in 2022 with the theft of over $170 million from a cryptocurrency exchange. The DOJ said that a portion of the stolen funds were later used to purchase luxury goods and services.
The DOJ also announced charges against two other individuals in connection with separate cryptocurrency schemes.
One scheme involved the theft of over $63 million from two cryptocurrency exchanges through phishing scams. The scammers were able to obtain user credentials and then withdraw the funds from the exchanges' hot wallets.
The other scheme involved the creation of a fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange, which was used to scam investors out of over $94 million. The exchange was promoted through social media and online advertisements, and investors were induced to deposit funds into the exchange's accounts.
The charges announced Thursday follow a recent report by Coinbase where the exchange had some of its employees in foreign countries bribed to steal user data. The exchange expects to voluntarily pay users between $180 million to $400 million for the data breach.
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