COURT CONVICTS USD3.36 BILLION DARK WEB SCAM CRYPTO FRAUDSTER WHO HID BITCOIN IN BATHROOMThe crypto fraudster behind a massive Bitcoin fraud using the notorious former online darknet black market Silk Road, used by drug dealers and other criminals, has been convicted after pleading guilty on November 4 in a New York court. US citizen James Zhong admitted wire fraud when he unlawfully obtained over 50,000 Bitcoin from the Silk Road marketplace in September 2012, one year before it was shut down by US authorities. Zhong had used a string of nine fraudulent accounts to conceal his identity then triggered over 140 transactions in rapid succession to trick Silk Road’s withdrawal-processing system into releasing the Bitcoin into the accounts, before transferring the crypto currency into a variety of separate addresses in his name. It was only in a November 2021 search of Zhong’s Gainesville, Georgia home that law enforcement finally managed to track down and seize the Bitcoin, including on a computer circuit-board stashed under blankets in a popcorn tin in a bathroom closet. The Bitcoin seized is now valued at over USD3.36 billion, making it the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the history of the US Department of Justice. Zhong, who is facing up to 20 years in prison, will be sentenced on February 23. The US government on November 7 filed a forfeiture order for the assets seized, rather than returning them to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, also known as ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’, who is serving life in prison for money laundering and drug offences linked to the illegal trading platform, which has spawned imitators across the dark web. ENDS