$22M Worth BTC Seized by U.S DOJ From Ransomware Attacker

• The inquiry led to the US Department of Justice seizing 719 Bitcoins.
• The convict was sentenced to 20 years of prison.

For his involvement in the NetWalker ransomware assaults, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seized 719 bitcoins. This was from 35-year-old Canadian Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins. Almost $22 million worth of cryptocurrencies was seized at the time.

A new report claims that Vachon-Desjardins was engaged in the development of the highly sophisticated malware known as NetWalker. Companies, emergency services, educational institutions, and students all across the world were potential targets of the malicious malware. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it is important to remember that the healthcare industry was a primary target of the assaults.

Severe Sentence an Example 

Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, said that the perpetrator mostly went after wealthy individuals and corporations. In order to benefit from “the chaos caused by encrypting and stealing the victims’ data.”

The inquiry led to the US Department of Justice seizing 719 Bitcoins and Canadian Dollars totaling $742,840. The Bitcoin was worth around $21.8M at the time of seizure, but only about $14M now.

Also, the US government successfully extradited the individual to the country. And gave him a federal jail term of 20 years. According to Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., the severe sentence might serve as an example to others who think they can abuse people in this manner.

Florida native Joshua David Nicholas acknowledged a month ago that he and others involved with the cryptocurrency platform EmpiresX stole $100 million from investors. With his guilty plea, Nicholas faces a maximum of five years in Federal prison for his role in a conspiracy involving securities fraud.

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