Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Suspects Behind $1.8M Ether Heist Have Their Day in Court

Published 06/13/2018, 07:36 AM
Updated 06/13/2018, 07:41 AM
 Suspects Behind $1.8M Ether Heist Have Their Day in Court

Suspects Behind $1.8M Ether Heist Have Their Day in Court

As cryptocurrencies begin to catch on, criminals are starting to realize the potential gains they could make from stealing a bit for themselves.

Three New Yorkers in particular—one of them a worker at a church and another who worked at the Education Department—were caught last year by authorities after they attempted to rob an individual in possession of around $1.8 million in Ether and had their first day in court today.

All three suspects pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery, and burglary.

The heist was organized by Louis Meza, who set up a meeting with the victim and pretended to order a ride through Uber to bring him back home. Once the victim was inside the car, Darrell Colon—hidden in the rear of the vehicle—pointed a weapon at the individual, asking for his private key and the USB dongle that contained the credentials to his Ethereum wallet.

Reports aren’t clear on whether the USB stick was in fact a hardware wallet or a simple NAND flash device storing information that could be used to make transactions through MyEtherWallet. The thieves, fortunately, weren’t very competent, as they allowed the victim to escape.

“The victim was able to run, terrified, for two blocks until he was able to reach a grocery store and call 911,” said the prosecutor.

Despite the escape, however, Meza managed to get his hands on the cryptocurrency and transfer all $1.8 million to his own account after holding the victim inside the van for two hours. This transfer cannot be reversed and it’s quite possible that the victim will never see the Ether again.

The actors in this heist are all facing 25 years in prison for grand larceny and kidnapping.


This article appeared first on Cryptovest

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.