A Indiana man has pleaded guilty to stealing almost $38 million in cryptocurrency from nearly 600 victims after hacking an investment company.
Evan Frederick Light, 21, of Lebanon, Indiana, admitted to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week.
In court documents filed last month, Light said he stole customer personal identifiable information from a Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based investment company in order to steal cryptocurrency from 571 victims.
He then used a crypto mixer and transferred the digital assets to other countries in a bid to obfuscate the movement of the funds, the indictment read. Crypto mixers are apps that make it more difficult to trace blockchain transactions.
"I knew then and know now that these proceeds were unlawfully obtained and were subsequently unlawfully laundered to conceal their source, control, ownership, and location," he admitted in court documents.
The DOJ said in its Wednesday announcement that the "cyber intrusion" scam affected victims across the world.
"Although this defendant tried to hide in the shadows of a cyber underworld, he was not beyond the reach of our team," said United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell in a statement. "Today's guilty verdicts should serve as a reminder that this office and its law enforcement partners will bring cyber criminals to justice, regardless [of] how sophisticated their crimes may be."
The DOJ added that Light faces up to 40 years in prison for his crimes.
Edited by Andrew Hayward