A Nebraska resident has been accused of stealing $3.5 million from cloud computing services to mine cryptocurrencies.
Nebraska Man Indicted for Multi-Million Dollar “Cryptojacking” Scheme
Defendant Allegedly Stole More Than $3.5 Million in Cloud Computing Services In Order to Mine Cryptocurrency@NewYorkFBI @NYPDnews https://t.co/CExr2Z9FSU
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) April 15, 2024
According to a press release, Charles O. Parks III, also known as CP3O, orchestrated a large-scale cryptojacking operation.
As part of the scheme, the man stole resources from “two well-known service providers” of cloud computing to mine cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR), valued at $1 million.
He conducted these operations from January to August 2021. Parks created and used various domains to access “vast amounts of computing power.” The accused deceived service providers into granting benefits and privileges, as well as billing delays.
Parks converted and laundered the proceeds through bitcoin exchanges, the NFT market, an online payment provider, and traditional bank accounts.
He used the funds for “extravagant purchases” such as a luxury Mercedes Benz model, jewelry, and a suite in a top-tier hotel.
“This arrest demonstrates the ability of law enforcement to collaborate with the private sector to identify and track cybercriminals, as well as put an end to their sophisticated theft. As the threat landscape in this space becomes increasingly complex and deep, the New York Police Department and our federal partners continue to skillfully counteract perpetrators, even as they employ new tactics,” said New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban.
On April 16, Parks appeared in court in Omaha. He faces up to 20 years in prison for fraud charges and up to 10 years for involvement in illegal monetary transactions.
In 2023, experts from SonicWall discovered that the number of cryptojacking attacks in Europe and North America had tripled.