Another lawsuit filed against AT&T after theft of 159 ETH

Texas resident Jamarquis Etheridge filed a lawsuit against telecommunications giant AT&T, accusing it of security breaches that led to the theft of Ethereum.

The plaintiff alleges that in September 2020 he fell victim to a SIM swap at AT&T’s hands, of which he has been a customer since 2009.

According to him, the attackers gained unauthorized access to his account and stole 159.8 ETH from one of the exchanges. Shortly after the incident, the price of the cryptocurrency rose above $4,200, according to the court document. At the time of writing, ETH was valued at $3,027.

Etheridge accused the mobile operator of failing to provide adequate security for his data.

He added that “AT&T was aware of the consequences of SIM swapping,” as it had previously issued warnings to customers about this form of fraud.

The plaintiff seeks to recover the stolen cryptocurrency amounting to 159.8 ETH, as well as damages and other losses for violations of several laws, including the Data Protection Act and the Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The case will be heard by a jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

In September 2020, the Central District of California dismissed the suit brought by BitAngels founder Michael Terpin against AT&T for damages.

Terpin claimed that in 2018 the company aided scammers in SIM swapping, causing him to lose cryptocurrency worth $24 million. The investor sought $200 million in damages. However, the court did not find evidence of fraud or negligence by AT&T employees.

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