American sues T-Mobile after losing $450,000 in Bitcoin

Californian Kelvin Cheng sues T-Mobile over 15 BTC lost to a SIM swap.

A Californian resident, Kelvin Cheng, has accused telecommunications giant T-Mobile of negligence after losing 15 BTC in a SIM swap. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In May 2020, Cheng received a Telegram message from the number of Iterative Capital co-founder Brandon Buykenen, who allegedly offered a higher price for 15 BTC.

The investor transferred the cryptocurrency to the specified wallet, but the funds never arrived. He valued his losses at $450,000.

A few days later, Buykenen informed clients that several of his accounts had been compromised through SIM swapping.

According to the complaint, a representative of Iterative used T-Mobile’s services. Cheng alleges the company breached its duties to protect customers’ personal and financial information and was negligent in hiring and training customer-support staff.

gov.uscourts.nysd.553814.1.0 by ForkLog on Scribd

In May 2019, BitAngels founder Michael Terpin won $75.8 million in a lawsuit over $24 million of cryptocurrency stolen via SIM swapping.

Terpin also accused telecoms giant AT&T of complicity and sought $224 million in damages. The court dismissed a a 69-page lawsuit.

Earlier in January 2021, SIM-swappers stole about $27,000 in Bitcoin from a California resident.

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