“The Community” Fined $120M for Multi-million Cryptocurrency Theft Scheme

A sixth member of “The Community” was sentenced to 10-month imprisonment and over $120,000 fine for multi-million dollar crypto theft conspiracy.

Acting attorney of US Justice Department, Saima Mohsin for the Eastern District of Michigan, announced on Tuesday that a sixth member of an international cyberattacker group, “ The Community” was found guilty in association with a multi-million-dollar sim hijacking scheme. Garrett Endicott, the sixth member of the convicted group was sentenced to 10 months in jail and ordered to pay a penalty of $121,549.37 in restitution.

The criminal group was engaged in SIM hijacking to steal digital currencies from crypto-wallets across the United States.  Once the cyber attackers had control of the victims’ phone numbers, they were used to gain access to online accounts and virtual currency wallets. Afterward, members reset passwords and request two-factor authentication codes that enabled them to manipulate the cybersecurity systems.

Collectively, bogus schemes resulted in multi-million dollar cryptocurrencies theft. Whereas, victims lost around $2,000 to $5million at the time of theft. However, the convicted defendants indulged in total thefts of $50,000 to $9 million.

“The actions of these defendants resulted in the loss of millions of dollars to the victims, some of whom lost their entire retirement savings,” said Acting US Attorney Mohsin.  “This case should serve as a reminder to all of us to protect our personal and financial information from those who seek to steal it.”

HSI Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris said, “The illegal activities of The Community were thwarted as the result of a complex international cryptocurrency and identity theft investigation. As criminal organizations commonly use web-based schemes to further their illicit activities, this demonstrates how vulnerable our personal information can be, and the damage that can ensue when our information falls into the wrong hands.”

This case was investigated by HSI with the assistance of Irish government officials to take down the members of “The Community”. With the increase in cryptocurrency adoption, crimes are also rising. Nonetheless, the law enforcement authorities are rendering efforts to secure the digital space.

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