Criminal Extradited from Cyprus for Allegedly Stealing Bitcoin

Two alleged criminals, one suspected of stealing thousands of Bitcoin and the other a money launderer with connections to Hezbollah, were extradited from Cyprus, according to the Department of Justice or DOJ.

One of the suspects is wanted in Georgia and Arizona for cyber intrusion and extortion and the other is wanted in Florida for money-laundering in support of Hezbollah. 

Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, a Cypriot national, is accused of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and identity theft and extortion. The DOJ said Epifaniou and conspirators stole personal information from an online game publisher in California, a hardware company in New York, an online employment website in Virginia and an online sports website owned by Turner Broadcasting System from October November 2014 until 2016. He allegedly hacked into the networks and defrauded them of $56,850 in Bitcoin.

Epifaniou is also alleged to have organized a brute force attack on Ripoff Report in 2016 where he held its database under ransom for $90,000.

The second man extradited by the DOJ is Ghassan Diab, a citizen of Lebanon accused of money laundering over $100,000, conspiracy to launder of $100,000 and unlicensed transmission of currency. The DOJ identified Diab as an alleged member of Hezbollah. 

The DOJ recently indicted a crypto hacker who allegedly amassed millions in crypto and sold access to breached networks.