A young man has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing crypto assets worth roughly £17,000 (approx. $18,830) from his late uncle’s wallet. According to a report by WalesOnline, the defendant used the stolen funds to purchase computers and game consoles.
Per a sentencing hearing at Newport Crown, Callum Burn-Keen-Friel, 21 went to live with his uncles Robin and James Symonds last year but Robin Symonds died unexpectedly during that time. After Robin Symonds’ death, James Symonds became concerned for his health and wrote down the login details of his and late brother’s computers and crypto accounts, and kept them in a chest of drawers in his bedroom.
Mr. Symonds then told Callum Burn-Keen-Friel, his nephew, where he had kept these details in case anything should happen to him in the future.
Man Steals $18,830 in Crypto
Symonds stated that after his nephew returned to his home in Devon, he discovered that the login details were missing from the drawers and when he checked his late brother’s crypto wallet, it had been accessed. The victim stated that several other items including a Trezor USB wallet containing some bitcoin (BTC) and chainlink (LINK) were missing from the drawers.
Mr. Symonds said he then confronted his nephew since he was the second person with knowledge of where these items were kept, but Burn-Keen-Friel said he had nothing to do with the missing items.
Following investigations of the case, authorities stated that after Coinbase and PayPal were served with “production orders,” it was revealed that the defendant moved approximately £17,968 ($18,830) worth of crypto assets from his uncles’ wallets to his PayPal and Starling bank accounts to purchase Nintendo Switch consoles, an iPhone 12, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
Bags Two Year Jail Term
After the investigation, Burn-Keen-Friel pleaded guilty to “theft, concealing and transferring criminal property, fraud, and securing unauthorized access to computer material with intent.”
He was then sentenced to two years imprisonment and also ordered to pay £1,000 ($1,107) in court costs.
Meanwhile, offline crypto theft has become common in recent times. Earlier this month, a gang of four were sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting and stealing roughly Dhs1.7 million ($462,836) from a crypto investor based in Dubai.
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Source: https://coinfomania.com/man-jailed-for-stealing-18830-in-crypto/