The defendant from Nebraska (USA) allegedly stole $3.5 million from cloud computing services in order to mine cryptocurrencies.
Nebraska Man Indicted for Multi-Million Dollar \"Cryptojacking\" Scheme
Defendant Allegedly Stole More Than $3.5 Million in Cloud Computing Services In Order to Mine Cryptocurrency@NewYorkFBI @NYPDnews https://t.co/CExr2Z9FSU
According to a press release, Charles O. Parks III, also known as CP3O, has implemented a large-scale cryptojacking operation.
As part of the scheme, the man stole power from "two well-known cloud computing service providers" for mining cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR), worth $1 million.
He performed operations from January to August 2021. Parks created and used various domains to gain access to "huge amounts of computing power." The accused tricked service providers into providing benefits and privileges, as well as deferred billing.
Parks converted and laundered the proceeds through bitcoin exchanges, the NFT marketplace, an online payment provider, and traditional bank accounts.
He used the funds for "extravagant purchases" such as a luxury Mercedes Benz car model, jewelry and a room in a first-class hotel.
"This arrest demonstrates the ability of law enforcement agencies to join forces with the private sector to identify and track cybercriminals, as well as put an end to their sophisticated theft. While the threat landscape in this space is becoming more complex and profound, the NYPD and our federal partners continue to skillfully counter intruders, even when they use new tactics," said NYPD Commissioner Edward Kaban.
On April 16, Parks appeared in court in Omaha. He faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of fraud and up to 10 years in prison for participating in illegal money transactions.
Recall that in 2023, SonicWall experts found that in Europe and North America, the number of attacks for the purpose of hidden mining increased threefold.