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US Authorities Seize $34M in One of the Country's Largest Crypto Confiscations

The funds were allegedly gained by selling illicit goods, including stolen credentials.

By Eliza Gkritsi
AccessTimeIconApr 5, 2022 at 11:25 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:02 p.m. UTC
(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)
(Kevin Ku/Unsplash)
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Federal prosecutors in south Florida seized $34 million in crypto from a man they allege was selling stolen credentials on the dark web, saying it was one of the country's largest confiscations of crypto.

  • A resident of south Florida had brought in millions of dollars through over 100,000 sales of illicit items and stolen online account information, such as credentials for Netflix and Uber, on different dark web marketplaces, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a Monday statementhttps://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/united-states-forfeits-millions-cryptocurrency-used-launder-illicit-dark-web-proceeds.
  • Authorities seized the assets under a civil forfeiture complaint, a court proceeding against the property rather than a person. This type of action doesn't require the suspect to be convicted for the assets to be confiscated.
  • The person was using a privacy mixer, also known as a tumbler, to obfuscate the transactions, which violated money laundering statutes, the DoJ said. Police found several different wallets related to the activity.
  • A privacy mixer was also used by Hydra Market, a now-defunct Russian dark web marketplace that traded mainly drugs, German police said on Tuesday.

Read more: German Authorities Shut Down Russian Darknet Market, Seize $25M in Bitcoin

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Eliza Gkritsi
Eliza Gkritsi

Eliza Gkritsi is a CoinDesk contributor focused on the intersection of crypto and AI.

Follow @egreechee on Twitter

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