More than $5 million worth of bitcoin pilfered from five victims in SIM swapping intrusions from October 2022 to March 2023 is being sought to be retrieved by the U.S. Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
All of the stolen funds have been transferred to various cryptocurrency wallets before being consolidated in a Stake.com account-funding wallet, said the Justice Department.
"Many of these transactions were circular in that they eventually returned funds to their original source, and consistent with money laundering utilized to 'clean' proceeds of criminal activity," the Justice Department added.
Such a development comes after the seizure of over $2.8 million worth of crypto from alleged Zeppelin ransomware leader Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, as well as more than $1.9 million obtained from cryptocurrency investment scams. The Justice Department was also able to forfeit $225 million stolen in romance baiting schemes in June.
All of the stolen funds have been transferred to various cryptocurrency wallets before being consolidated in a Stake.com account-funding wallet, said the Justice Department.
"Many of these transactions were circular in that they eventually returned funds to their original source, and consistent with money laundering utilized to 'clean' proceeds of criminal activity," the Justice Department added.
Such a development comes after the seizure of over $2.8 million worth of crypto from alleged Zeppelin ransomware leader Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, as well as more than $1.9 million obtained from cryptocurrency investment scams. The Justice Department was also able to forfeit $225 million stolen in romance baiting schemes in June.
