Topic: money laundering
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California Man Admits Laundering $230M in Stolen Crypto
Kunal Mehta pleaded guilty to laundering at least $25 million from a $230 million cryptocurrency theft, becoming the eighth person to do so in a DOJ case initiated in May 2025. The criminal network used social engineering to hack accounts over 18 months, formed through online gaming, and involved...
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'Bitcoin Queen' Jailed 11 Years for $7.3B Crypto Fraud
Zhimin Qian, known as the "Bitcoin Queen," received an 11-year and eight-month prison sentence in London for orchestrating a massive cryptocurrency fraud that deceived over 128,000 investors in China from 2014 to 2017, resulting in the UK's largest-ever seizure of 61,000 Bitcoin. The Metropolitan...
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Ex-Hacker Who Stole 120K Bitcoin Seeks Security Job
Ilya Lichtenstein, a key figure in the 2016 Bitfinex hack, has been released from prison and is now seeking employment in the cybersecurity field, expressing deep remorse for his past crime. He and his wife pleaded guilty to laundering 120,000 stolen bitcoins, valued at over $10 billion, in one o...
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Chinese Crypto Scammers Fuel Record Darknet Markets on Telegram
Chinese-language crypto scam markets on Telegram have become the largest illicit online marketplaces in history, surpassing even major dark web platforms, with leading channels facilitating nearly $2 billion in monthly transactions. Their explosive growth is fueled by providing money laundering a...
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Crypto Laundering Service Shut Down in Major Law Enforcement Bust
An international law enforcement operation led by Germany and Switzerland, with support from Europol and Eurojust, has dismantled the cryptocurrency laundering service Cryptomixer, seizing over 25 million euros in Bitcoin and 12 terabytes of data. The service, targeted in Operation Olympia, was a...
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DOJ Seizes Starlink Systems Used in Scam Compound
US authorities have seized Starlink satellite internet terminals used by criminal networks in Southeast Asia to disrupt their global fraud operations. At least 108 Starlink terminals were identified across scam compounds in Myanmar, enabling money laundering and wire fraud targeting American citi...
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Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao
President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, following his support for a Trump-affiliated crypto initiative and advocacy from the company. Zhao had previously received a four-month prison sentence and Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine for anti-money laundering failures a...
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US Sanctions North Korean Bankers Over Cybercrime and IT Fraud
The U.S. imposed sanctions on two banks and eight individuals for laundering funds from North Korean cybercrime and fraudulent IT worker schemes, targeting millions in stolen cryptocurrency and sanctions evasion. North Korean IT workers use forged identities to secure global contracts, generating...
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Human Trafficking Funded by Crypto Surges
Cryptocurrency use in human trafficking is surging, with transactions increasing by at least 85% in a year, enabling criminal networks to operate on a large, transnational scale due to crypto's borderless and pseudonymous nature. Chinese-speaking criminal groups on platforms like Telegram openly ...
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'Incognito' Dark Web Drug Market Operator Gets 30-Year Sentence
The operator of the "Incognito Market" dark web platform was sentenced to 30 years in prison for facilitating over $105 million in illegal drug sales, including massive quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine. The defendant, Rui-Siang Lin, pleaded guilty to multiple charges and was easily ident...
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Bitcoin Hacker Ilya Lichtenstein Credits Trump for Early Release
Ilya Lichtenstein, a key figure in the multi-billion dollar Bitfinex Bitcoin heist, has been released early from his five-year sentence, crediting the Trump-era **First Step Act** for his freedom. His wife and accomplice, Heather Morgan, was also released early last year; both were arrested in 20...
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North Korean Hackers Lead 2025 Crypto Theft Surge
North Korean state-sponsored hackers stole over $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, a 51% increase, by pivoting to fewer, more sophisticated attacks on high-value targets. Their evolved tactics include sophisticated social engineering, posing as recruiters or investors to compromise employees a...
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Nvidia Chip Exports to China Lead to CTO Indictment
A federal indictment revealed a scheme to illegally export advanced Nvidia GPU technology to China, involving four individuals including US and Chinese nationals. The group allegedly bypassed US export controls by falsifying documents and providing misleading information, facing charges of conspi...
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Netflix Scammed Out of $11 Million by Convicted Director
A New York jury convicted director Carl Erik Rinsch of fraud and money laundering for diverting $11 million in Netflix production funds for a sci-fi series to personal use. Rinsch used the money for extravagant personal purchases, including luxury cars, high-end watches, and furniture, and lost s...
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Gaming Industry Under Siege: DDoS, Data Theft & Malware Attacks
The gaming industry is experiencing escalating cyberattacks, including DDoS incidents and security breaches, threatening user data and virtual economies as the market grows to nearly $189 billion by 2025. Players, especially younger ones, often neglect security measures like strong passwords, mak...
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Beware: This 'Privacy Browser' Has Hidden Dangers
The Universe Browser, marketed as a privacy tool, secretly routes user data through Chinese servers and installs malware-like programs, including keyloggers and hidden network connections. It is linked to the Vault Viper criminal syndicate, which engages in money laundering, human trafficking, an...
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NCA Chairs Five Eyes Group, Singles Out "The Com"
The UK's National Crime Agency now leads the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group, focusing on combating digital threats and dismantling criminal networks like "The Com." "The Com" is a dangerous online network involved in cybercrime, financial laundering, child exploitation, and links to groups like ...
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New TheTruthSpy Flaw Exposes Phone Spyware Victims
A critical vulnerability in TheTruthSpy spyware platform allows attackers to hijack accounts and access sensitive personal data from compromised devices without consent. TheTruthSpy has a history of security failures, including multiple data breaches and inadequate protection practices, yet conti...
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