Crypto Crime Victim and Hacker Team Up to Take on AT&T

Ellis “Baby Al Capone” Pinsky, a hacker who stole millions of dollars’ worth of crypto from entrepreneur Michael Terpin, agreed to team up with his victim in order to take on telecommunications giant AT&T, the New York Post reports.

The hack took place all the way in 2018 when Pinsky was 15. The precocious hacker managed to pull off a sophisticated SIM swap scam that cost Terpin a whopping $24 million.

Pinsky, who was at the helm of a team of hackers, agreed to pay $22 million to the businessman earlier this week.

As part of the deal, the hacker agreed to testify under oath against the telecommunications behemoth next May. Thus, he will form an “unholy alliance” with his victim.   

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Terpin filed a $224 million lawsuit against the telecommunications company in 2018, accusing it of “gross negligence.” In September 2020, AT&T won a motion to dismiss the $200 million damages claim from the entrepreneur. The court threw out allegations that the company’s employees intentionally disregarded security deficiencies associated with the two-factor authentication procedure.

The businessman, however, is still going after AT&T, and Pinsky’s testimony may be critical in the case.

The potentially crucial testimony stipulation was agreed to separately, as per the report.

The telecommunications giant is being accused of unauthorized disclosure of private information to bad actors among other things.