Criminal Extradited from Cyprus for Allegedly Stealing Bitcoin

Published at: July 19, 2020

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.

Tags
Related Posts
UK Crackdown Pulls Thousands of Crypto Scams Offline
Over the past four months, the National Cyber Security Centre, or NCSC, removed over 300,000 URLs pertaining to fake celebrity-endorsed investment opportunities. More than a half of these sites belonged to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. Per an announcement published by the NCSC on August 14, an increasing number of these scams utilized fake endorsements from national celebrities, such as Ed Sheeran and Richard Branson. This raised red flags for authorities, prompting the launch of a massive retaliatory campaign. Ciaran Martin, CEO of the NCSC, commented: “These investment scams are a striking example of the kind of methods cyber criminals are …
Bitcoin / Aug. 14, 2020
Mobile Crypto Scam Targets Wealthy Indian Investors
A new cryptocurrency scam in India is targeting wealthy individuals using a fake mobile app. According to India TV News, cybercriminals are targeting high income individuals across India. Victims receive messages through social media groups asking them to sell and buy Bitcoin through a mobile app. This app, which supposedly acts as a crypto exchange, is actually entirely fraudulent. Once a user’s Bitcoin is deposited on the fake exchange, the scammers stop responding to queries from the victim and disappear. Manan Shah, founder and CEO of Avalance Global Solutions, said that an unidentified man lost over $50,000 while dealing with …
Adoption / Aug. 10, 2020
Crypto Scammers Turn Toward Terrorism With a Japanese Bomb Threat
Crypto terrorists threatened to bomb a government office on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. They told authorities that they would only disable the alleged explosive device if their crypto ransom was paid. According to FNN, the terrorists sent the Numata Town Hall an email stating they had installed a bomb in a women’s second-floor toilet. They claimed that as long as officials met their payment demands before 03:00 UTC on June 29, the bomb would not be detonated. However, this appears to have been a fake threat. The deadline set by the criminals has passed and the hall remains intact …
Bitcoin / July 29, 2020
AMFEIX Threatens Users Who Share Coverage That Criticizes the Company
Last week Cointelegraph published a story about investors having difficulty getting their money back from a crypto fund called AMFEIX, which promised high-yield profits for investors who sent them Bitcoin (BTC). Our story described more than 500 pending withdrawals from users trying to get their money back, and AMFEIX’s unsatisfactory communication with those users. The company addressed its users via its official Telegram channel after the story was published, suggesting that the withdrawal delays were due to technical difficulties that had been an issue since May. It also stated that “members who show loyalty to AMFEIX will have priority” in …
Bitcoin / July 28, 2020
FTX hacker reportedly transfers a portion of stolen funds to OKX after using Bitcoin mixer
Hackers who drained FTX and FTX USA of over $450 million worth of assets just moments after the doomed crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, continue to move assets around in an attempt to launder the money. A crypto analyst who goes by ZachXBT on Twitter alleged that the FTX hackers have transferred a portion of the stolen funds to the OKX exchange, after using the Bitcoin mixer ChipMixer. The analyst reported that at least 225 BTC — worth $4.1 million USD — has been sent to OKX so far. 1/ Myself and @bax1337 spent this past weekend …
Blockchain / Nov. 29, 2022