The DOJ has successfully seized approximately $34 million USD worth of cryptocurrency from a dark web seller. Prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida have called it one of the largest cryptocurrency civil forfeiture filings in the history of the U.S.
In a recent report, law enforcement has identified a South Florida resident who has been using a fake online alias to make over 100,000 sales of illicit items across dark web marketplaces. The majority of the sales include hacked account information from major subscription services including HBO, Netflix, Uber and more. The DOJ explains that the hacker was able to access this information from The Onion Router (TOR) Network, which is a specialized network of computers that have been “distributed around the world designed to anonymize a user’s internet traffic by concealing computers’ IP (Internet Protocol) addresses.” This is also known as chain hoping and is considered a form of money laundering.
The proceeds made from the illicit sales were then deposited into various crypto wallets, that have now been recovered by the government. The amount seized between May 16, 2017 and June 19, 2017 included around, 919.3 Ethereum, 643 Bitcoins, 640 Bitcoin Gold, 640 Bitcoin Cash and 640 Bitcoin SV. The DOJ has confirmed that the forfeiture filing is a result of Operation TORnado, a joint investigation across multiple levels of federal, state and local agencies.
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