US Authorities Announce Conviction Related to Silk Road Bitcoin Theft
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams cited "state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing" and "good job old-fashioned police" when recovering the stolen Bitcoin from the authorities.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has announced that an individual has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges related to "illegally obtained" bitcoins on the Silk Road market in 2012.
In a Nov. 7 announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice said James Zhong had pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges related to carrying out a scheme to steal approximately 50,676 bitcoins (BTC) at Silk Road. Authorities seized the bitcoin from Zhong's Georgia home in November 2021, at which time the crypto's total value was approximately $3.36 billion.
“James Zhong committed wire fraud over a decade ago when he stole approximately 50,000 bitcoins from Silk Road,” said U.S. attorney Damian Williams. "For nearly a decade, the whereabouts of this huge missing piece of Bitcoin has turned into a $3.3 billion+ mystery."
Williams cited “state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing” and “good old-fashioned police work” by authorities who tracked down and recovered the stolen BTC. IRS special agents raided Zhong's property, finding over 50,491 BTC in a floor safe and "on a single board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn box. " in addition to another treasure of over 11 BTC, $661,900 in cash and 25 Casascius coins worth approximately 174 BTC.
"This case shows that we won't stop following the money, no matter how cleverly hidden, even to a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn box."
According to the Justice Department, Zhong's scheme involved creating nine accounts in the marketplace to conceal his identity and triggering more than 140 transactions in a short time "to deceive S...
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams cited "state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing" and "good job old-fashioned police" when recovering the stolen Bitcoin from the authorities.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has announced that an individual has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges related to "illegally obtained" bitcoins on the Silk Road market in 2012.
In a Nov. 7 announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice said James Zhong had pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges related to carrying out a scheme to steal approximately 50,676 bitcoins (BTC) at Silk Road. Authorities seized the bitcoin from Zhong's Georgia home in November 2021, at which time the crypto's total value was approximately $3.36 billion.
“James Zhong committed wire fraud over a decade ago when he stole approximately 50,000 bitcoins from Silk Road,” said U.S. attorney Damian Williams. "For nearly a decade, the whereabouts of this huge missing piece of Bitcoin has turned into a $3.3 billion+ mystery."
Williams cited “state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing” and “good old-fashioned police work” by authorities who tracked down and recovered the stolen BTC. IRS special agents raided Zhong's property, finding over 50,491 BTC in a floor safe and "on a single board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn box. " in addition to another treasure of over 11 BTC, $661,900 in cash and 25 Casascius coins worth approximately 174 BTC.
"This case shows that we won't stop following the money, no matter how cleverly hidden, even to a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn box."
According to the Justice Department, Zhong's scheme involved creating nine accounts in the marketplace to conceal his identity and triggering more than 140 transactions in a short time "to deceive S...
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