A Nebraska man is facing accusations from US authorities for a supposed cryptojacking scam, which reportedly swindled two cloud companies – with bases in Seattle and Redmond, Washington respectively – out of approximately $3.5 million.
According to prosecutors, the cryptojacking operation is believed to have generated around $1 million worth of cryptocurrency from mining activities.
Cryptojacker Charged in $3.5 Million Scheme
Charles O. Parks III, commonly referred to as “CP3O,” is accused of masterminding an extensive illegitimate “cryptojacking” scheme, leading to charges for wire fraud and money laundering.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn claims that Parks illegally used resources from two cloud computing companies to generate around $970,000 worth of cryptocurrencies such as Ether, Litecoin, and Monero, by deceitfully obtaining approximately $3.5 million without authorization.
Prosecutors allege that Parks splurged on pricey items with money obtained unlawfully, such as a lavish Mercedes Benz, costly jewelry, and high-end hotel stays and travels. Notably, Parks was taken into custody on April 13 and could potentially spend up to 50 years in prison if found guilty.
According to the accusation, Parks is claimed to have established several accounts with a subsidiary of a cloud computing and consumer electronics company situated in Seattle, Washington (Company 1), and a computer hardware and services company based in Redmond, Washington (Company 2).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn is dedicated to bringing criminals who employ advanced technology for deceitful purposes to justice.
Park’s Calculated Fraud Moves
During the first eight months of 2021, Parks created multiple identities, business connections, and email addresses, some linked to the corporations he founded – MultiMillionaire LLC and CP3O LLC. Using these aliases, he was able to open accounts with cloud computing companies, granting him advanced services like premium cloud computing and extended payment terms.
An indictment implies that he allegedly cleaned some illegally obtained crypto assets through “Cryptocurrency Exchange 1,” a decentralized business without a physical headquarters. The remaining funds were reportedly laundered via payment processors, bank accounts, and a New York City-based NFT marketplace for non-fungible tokens.
Parks found a way around reporting transactions worth over $10,000 to federal authorities by breaking down payments into smaller amounts right under the threshold. According to the prosecution, there are several occurrences where Parks transferred cryptocurrency in amounts of $9,999 and less from crypto exchanges to his bank account.
Although one of his accounts had been suspended by the Seattle-based provider due to unpaid bills and suspected fraud, Parks is said to have opened a new account just the next day. He is believed to have used over $2.5 million worth of services from this new account.
Prosecutors claimed that Parks used the same deceitful methods to swindle a Redmond company out of over $969,000 for cloud computing and associated services.
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2024-04-22 07:10