US Authorities Charge Three in FTX Hack Involving $400 Million

The US Attorney’s Office charged three individuals in connection with the $400 million hack of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2022, which was carried out using SIM swapping.

On January 24, a case was filed in the Washington District Court against Robert Powell, Carter Ron, and Emily Hernandez. The documents detail the attack on “Victim Company 1” between November 11 and 12, 2022, following FTX’s bankruptcy filing.

Hernandez allegedly posed as an employee of the firm, while Powell deceitfully gained access to data from the mobile operator AT&T, which serviced the company. Subsequently, the group took over the organization’s accounts and “transferred more than $400 million in digital currency” from cryptocurrency wallets.

“A SIM swap attack involves deceitfully inducing a telecommunications operator to reassign a cell phone number from the SIM card of a legitimate subscriber or user to a SIM card controlled by a criminal,” the indictment states.

The analytics firm Elliptic suggested that “Victim Company 1” is FTX, as the dates and amount of stolen funds match the incident.

In a Bloomberg report, “two people familiar with the matter” confirmed the case’s connection to FTX.

Powell, Ron, and Hernandez face charges of conspiracy using electronic means and theft of personal data from “50 victims.”

On February 1, FTX promised to fully reimburse clients. However, no investors were found for the exchange’s relaunch, nor buyers for the platform itself.