I’m not clear on this article whether one suspect was in Los Angeles and the other was in Miami, or they traveled to Los Angeles and other places as part of their lifestyle.
The first paragraph says:
Two suspects were arrested in Miami this week and charged with conspiracy to steal and launder over $230 million in cryptocurrency using crypto exchanges and mixing services.
The two defendants, 20-year-old Malone Lam (aka “Greavys,” “Anne Hathaway,” and “$$$”) and 21-year-old Jeandiel Serrano (aka “Box,” “VersaceGod,” and “@SkidStar”) were arrested Wednesday night by FBI agents and appeared in court on Thursday.
The final paragraph which made me question what really went on says:
The FBI arrested Lam and Serrano after tracking their lavish spending and social media posts from friends revealed their locations in Los Angeles and Miami.
The pair used mixing services but made critical mistakes including one giving their name at one point.
According to court documents, Lam, Serrano, and others allegedly gained unauthorized access to victims’ cryptocurrency accounts, transferring funds into crypto wallets under their control before laundering the stolen assets.
They reportedly laundered the stolen cryptocurrency via a combination of crypto mixers and exchanges, using “peel chains” and pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their identities and locations throughout the scheme.
As we later learn, there is a third person here, which makes this story more interesting.
Crypto fraud investigator ZachXBT, who assisted the official investigators, identified a third alleged conspirator known by the alias “Wiz.” As he revealed, the group targeted a creditor of cryptocurrency exchange Genesis, using spoofed phone numbers and impersonating Google and Gemini customer support to compromise accounts.
While posing as a Gemini support representative, they claimed the account had been compromised and deceived the victim into resetting two-factor authentication (2FA) and sharing their screen via the AnyDesk remote desktop application to access private keys from Bitcoin Core and steal funds.
The follow-up investigation found that a cluster of Ethereum addresses linked to Serrano and Wiz received over $41 million from two exchanges in recent weeks. Despite efforts to cover their tracks, investigators traced the laundered funds after they were used to buy luxury cars, watches, and jewelry.
The funds were quickly laundered through multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, with transactions bouncing between Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and the privacy-focused coin Monero.
This is just absolutely crazy. Suspects behind $230 million cryptocurrency theft arrested in Miami is the article. Read more if you wish.