Hacker Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Stealing Over $12M From Crypto Exchanges

Last year, federal authorities accused Ahmed of committing wire fraud and money laundering, resulting in his arrest. The alleged crime involved the theft of $9 million from a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) constructed on Solana, which seems to be Crema Finance, according to reports. In December, Ahmed admitted his guilt to one charge of computer-related fraud.

He will also forfeit $12.3 million and pay $5 million in restitution as part of his sentence.

In the sentencing memorandum submitted last week, prosecutors recommended a four-year prison term for Ahmed. They acknowledged that the maximum sentence under law was five years. However, since Ahmed had owned up to his actions by pleading guilty and had returned the ill-gotten gains from the hacks, they requested a sentence slightly shorter than the suggested guidelines as a form of leniency.

Ahmed’s lawyers requested leniency without prison sentence. They emphasized his confession and proactive disclosure to authorities about his involvement in the hack of Nirvana Finance.

According to the defense document, Shakeeb had previously been charged with the Crypto Exchange hack, and the authorities had proposed that he admit guilt for this crime. However, despite acknowledging that disclosing information about another hack would lead to further penalties and potentially jeopardize his favorable plea deal, Shakeeb chose to come forward voluntarily.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced that Ahmed’s confessed guilt marked the first-ever prosecution for hacking a smart contract in the United States.

Regardless of how innovative or complex the hacking technique, we and our law enforcement allies will relentlessly trace the funds and apprehend the perpetrators. The recent prison sentence serves as a reminder that such harmful hacks will result in incarceration and forfeiture of all ill-gotten cryptocurrency.