Police body cam footage has revealed the moment a hacker unknowingly incriminated himself by opening a laptop containing thousands of Bitcoin in front of federal investigators. James Zhong was charged by the US government for stealing over 50,000 BTC from the Silk Road marketplace in 2012. In 2019, Zhong called the police to report a break-in at his home, inadvertently drawing attention to himself as an investor in Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit was working to solve the Silk Road hack of 2013. Eventually, a blockchain analytics firm hired by the government discovered that an address associated with the hacker had accidentally revealed Zhong’s name and address during a KYC routine with a crypto exchange. With the help of a cyber intelligence company, the IRS devised a plan to enter Zhong’s home under the guise of investigating the break-in. Once inside, Zhong made the mistake of showing investigators his Bitcoin holdings on camera. The following day, agents executed a search warrant and found the wallets containing the stolen BTC buried in concrete under Zhong’s basement floor. Zhong was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his involvement in the Silk Road hacking incident.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | James Zhong |
| Companies | BlockTrace, Chainalysis, IRS Criminal Investigation unit |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
