Geeky crypto thief, 32, jailed for hiding $3billion in Bitcoin in popcorn tin

[pawel7777]

I posted this yesterday in "Press", but this story surely deserves a topic on the main board.

Geeky crypto thief, 32, jailed for hiding $3billion in Bitcoin in popcorn tin admitted to trying to use the cash to score women - as government offloads stolen gains on Coinbase
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11985885/Bitcoin-scammer-admits-using-money-stolen-gains-impress-women-hes-sentenced-year.html

In short, an autist has been sitting for 10 years on a bitcoin stash worth over $3 billion, cashing out parts of it to try to impress hoes. That's a pathetic story and shows how miserable life without a higher purpose is even if you have tonnes of money. But there's also other interesting mention there:

The government sold it on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase – just like millions of other crypto traders, who have been characterized as 'degenerates' and basement-dwelling geeks in the past three years since digital currencies took off in popularity.

The only difference was size. The government's transaction was for 9,861 Bitcoin, sold for a total $215,738,155.

'There remains approximately 41,490.72 BTC, which the Government understands is expected to be liquidated in four more batches over the course of this calendar year,' Felton wrote in a sentencing memo for Zhong filed on March 31.

Hmm, could it be that this has something to do with Bitcoin struggling to keep above the $30k?

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[odolvlobo]

The headline is misleading. He was not jailed for hiding bitcoins.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Hmm, could it be that this has something to do with Bitcoin struggling to keep above the $30k?

OP, to save me the stress, you did not post the link to the thread here.

Well, it's really a huge amount that was pulled from the Bitcoin market cap, which I think is a reason why the price dropped. but this case looks unfair to me. Instead of the government selling the bitcoin, why not ask for those bitcoins to be returned to the exchange or platform they were stolen from?

[arwin100]

He was not jailed for hiding but rather for stealing bitcoins. This is huge amount and this is really crazy knowing that how those platforms could easily get stolen such huge amount of money out of their platform.

He just is victim of his need because for wanting to have luxurious lifestyle and slept with different woman he do this crime which is totally crazy act to do by certain people.

If that amount stolen will be back on its original destination maybe we can see a good effect to the market.

[pawel7777]

The headline is misleading. He was not jailed for hiding bitcoins.

I know. I didn't make the headline.

This is huge amount and this is really crazy knowing that how those platforms could easily get stolen such huge amount of money out of their platform.

Bitcoin was trading much lower back then when he stole it.
But shame on him for not destroying that popcorn tin before cops got their hands on it...

why not ask for those bitcoins to be returned to the exchange or platform they were stolen from?

Because the site was highly illegal and its operator (Ross Ulbricht) is serving a double life time.

[panganib999]

What a fucking moron that guy. Stealing bitcoins and instead of using it for something worthwhile like idk, doing something about his physique (no fatshaming), he used it to tip hoes? That was rich.
Classic old case of "If I have more money more girls will talk to me", although wouldn't really put that much blame to him since he admitted to his crimes and because well, he's mentally disabled.

Hmm, could it be that this has something to do with Bitcoin struggling to keep above the $30k?

why not ask for those bitcoins to be returned to the exchange or platform they were stolen from?

Something something legislations, they need to liquidate the assets first in order to properly audit it and file on their reports, AFAIK they also need to determine the exact denomination of the coins in today's dollar value which is why they are also converting bitcoins into cash.

[logfiles]

The headline is misleading. He was not jailed for hiding bitcoins.

I know. I didn't make the headline.

But you can make yours, too. It's not a must that the headline should be the exact one as that from the source.  
I am not surprised, it's an article from dailymail.co.uk with their usual stupid headlines that are nothing but clickbaits.

Basically, a hard drive that may have had the addresses containing Bitcoins was stashed in a popcorn tin. Let him serve his sentence, I have no pity for thieves, scammers, or hackers.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Because the site was highly illegal and its operator (Ross Ulbricht) is serving a double life time.

LOL, So in this case, the federal government will be benefiting from all that Bitcoin. It's really a big catch. And the guy who stole the bitcoin must really be so unknowledgeable on how to go about those bitcoins he stole. Sending Bitcoin to Coinbase (a centralized exchange) from a wallet that holds about 50,000 bitcoins was so unwise of him, and there was not even a reasonable thing he was using the money for. Well, this should serve as a lesson for people who solely depend on trading their bitcoin on centralized exchanges. If a person holds such an amount of bitcoin in their custody, it's supposed not to be sent to all kinds of platforms because it can be tracked. And Coinbase is an exchange that also saves user IP addresses, so I believe it was not even difficult to catch the guy.

[Cantsay]

I think I replied to a thread talking about the same person some days ago, and at first thought it was his friend that gave tip to the government about him being I'm possession of that amount of bitcoin but later @NotATether confirmed that it was not it friend that sold him out instead it was his own action that made the government suspicious of him which later led them to searching his properties and later found the bitcoin inside a Cheekos tin.

but this case looks unfair to me. Instead of the government selling the bitcoin, why not ask for those bitcoins to be returned to the exchange or platform they were stolen from?

It's very unlikely since the coin was stolen from a dark web it's impossible for the government to release the coin back to where they came from that they government and I'm also not sure if the duration counts but it has been 10 years since it was stolen.

[Darker45]

I think I have already responded to this same story, although in the economics section. This is not breaking news. This happened at least a week ago.

What surprised me was that this Zhong was only sentenced for a year even if he stole a staggering $3 billion in Bitcoin. I don't know how many cases he is facing, but I hope this one-year sentence is only for wire fraud to which he pleaded guilty. There might be others. I read somewhere that he is also involved in illegal drugs.

[Poker Player]

What a fucking moron that guy. Stealing bitcoins and instead of using it for something worthwhile like idk, doing something about his physique (no fatshaming), he used it to tip hoes? That was rich.
Classic old case of "If I have more money more girls will talk to me", although wouldn't really put that much blame to him since he admitted to his crimes and because well, he's mentally disabled.

By mentally disabled, do you mean autistic? Well, some autistic people can be intelligent, but autism does cause problems in relating to others, although I don't know to what extent in his case since he studied at the University.

On the other hand it is pathetic that he spent a lot of money to try to impress women and didn't attract them. I imagine that the ones in the photos are escorts. Very strange because a guy with a lot of money always attracts women interested, no matter how ugly he is, who wants to get his money but at least he fucks them. The article also states that he abused cocaine and alcohol.

Let him serve his sentence, I have no pity for thieves, scammers, or hackers.

Me neither.

[BenCodie]

I think you're all being a bit hard on him. At the time, he was 22 years of age. Of course, this is still adult-hood and he should be growing his morals and values as a person by this stage. However we don't know his upbringing. We don't know his circumstances. We don't know his mind. If we want to judge a book by its cover, we can probably assume that he may have been bullied at school, probably not a part of the jock team and probably did not ever get a girl that he wanted...maybe not even a sexual experience.

With these assumptions in mind, if he landed on this large sum of money which at the time was worth less than $100, then it turned into over a billion...how is someone supposed to grow personally in order to manage that money and do something good? Especially if there is any form of mental health deficit or mental disorder that is also in the mix. Alcohol, cocaine, women...that's how the movies have programmed people (especially young males) to enjoy money, or what you can do if you have a lot of it. All of which turn into habits until you can't do it anymore...so this guy probably just kept on doing it because it was always within his means. So in my opinion, I see a young kid with probably not the best track of personal development, possibly slight mental disorder or low mental health, and fueled it with further toxic actions, while not knowing what to do with so much money other than what he has probably seen on the TV.

It's pretty appalling for people to assume that he is autistic and also insult him on the board for what he did. I feel sorry for him if anything, and I commend him that for holding on to all of those coins for so long for over 10 years. By no means am I endorsing, supporting or commending his actions overall, it's definitely not the right way to go about things. I just don't think that he deserves this kind of hate and publicity. Just like when every other DeFi smart contract is hacked, it should just be news and everyone should just let it go. Let him serve his prison time and start again with nothing when he is out.

If people want something to be angry at, it's the U.S. government for confiscating the coins and hurting the bitcoin market, where most likely not one cent will benefit the people of America.

Also. He is not a scammer. He is a hacker. He found a hole, he expoited it, he profited. If silkroad was secure, he would not have gotten those coins in the first place. He did not trick or deceive anyone. There was technical skill involved in what he did.

[moneystery]

In short, an autist has been sitting for 10 years on a bitcoin stash worth over $3 billion, cashing out parts of it to try to impress hoes. That's a pathetic story and shows how miserable life without a higher purpose is even if you have tonnes of money. But there's also other interesting mention there:

Thinking that things like this only exist in movies but in the real world it also exists. It's quite sad to see him steal Bitcoin with such a large value but only use it to impress hoes.

That's true, it's quite patetic, but maybe he used to be a victim of bullying and didn't have the opportunity to be able to get women and whatever he wanted, so things like that motivated him to hack and steal Bitcoins to fulfill his greed. Very poor.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

I think I replied to a thread talking about the same person some days ago, and at first thought it was his friend that gave tip to the government about him being I'm possession of that amount of bitcoin but later @NotATether confirmed that it was not it friend that sold him out instead it was his own action that made the government suspicious of him which later led them to searching his properties and later found the bitcoin inside a Cheekos tin.

but this case looks unfair to me. Instead of the government selling the bitcoin, why not ask for those bitcoins to be returned to the exchange or platform they were stolen from?

It's very unlikely since the coin was stolen from a dark web it's impossible for the government to release the coin back to where they came from that they government and I'm also not sure if the duration counts but it has been 10 years since it was stolen.

Indirectly, he was the one who gave himself up for the government to investigate him. Now if the government sells off all that Bitcoin they hold on to, that's going to have a big impact on the price. I don't think this case is really so good news, because there is no way the government can return those bitcoins because of where they came from.

[digaran]

So it was pussy that got him caught after all? Never underestimate the pussy!
The funny irony is the fact that a thief was caught by king of thieves aka government, you know what they say, when you steal from a thief, you are the king of thieves.🤣

[Obito]

So it was pussy that got him caught after all? Never underestimate the pussy!
The funny irony is the fact that a thief was caught by king of thieves aka government, you know what they say, when you steal from a thief, you are the king of thieves.🤣

He could've get away with all of this if he wasn't flexing and he has paid his dues with the government, maybe probably should've gone to one of those Caribbean islands because he's basically set for life with that money if he had made a plan to get away with but as you've said, woman is her undoing. He's lucky though that he's getting a really short sentencing considering his connection to Silk Road.

[sokani]

Well, it's really a huge amount that was pulled from the Bitcoin market cap, which I think is a reason why the price dropped. but this case looks unfair to me.

$3 billion is a whole lot of money! According to the report, this is actually the highest amount of stolen bitcoin recovered from an individual and I think this could be the reason why bitcoin price is still struggling at the $30,000 market price.

Instead of the government selling the bitcoin, why not ask for those bitcoins to be returned to the exchange or platform they were stolen from?

Silk Road is not an exchange. It is a dark web market place that has been shot down about a decade ago by the American government, so that's the reason the recovered bitcoin could not be returned.

[Wakate]

This is just fucking crazy for him someone to have the intention to steal such a big amount of money. He wants to please his slots to believe him that he has the money to spend on them. His reasoning is a bit detrimental to my perception of having an odd reason of living a luxury lifestyle. Some persons can be very funny when it comes to why they want to be rich probably illegally. This is not a good reason to be a theft for crying out loud. If he was not jailed then any consequential treatment he was given should teach him a lesson.

[Baofeng]

We have similar thread here, James Zhong captured for $3.4 billion worth stolen bitcoin- USA cracks hesit. It's better if we can continue the discussion there.

[stadus]

Hmm, could it be that this has something to do with Bitcoin struggling to keep above the $30k?

That's a huge amount of money getting traded at one time. It's a huge dump happening, so the price will certainly be affected. However, if that's really the main reason, then I guess the dump is just temporary since Coinbase has over $1.6 billion in 24-hour trading volume. Alternatively, the best idea is to divide the amount of Bitcoin to be traded in different exchanges, if the government allows it.

Right now, Binance has the biggest trading volume with $12 billion daily. So, if some trades are done in Binance, then there won't be much effect on the overall market price.

https://coinmarketcap.com/rankings/exchanges/