On September 19, 2024, anonymous Twitter user and cryptocurrency investigator ZachXBT (@ZachXBT) disclosed his investigation into one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists in history, marking a significant advancement in the field of cryptocurrency theft.
In August 2024, a sophisticated social engineering attack was used to steal $243 million worth of bitcoin from a single Genesis creditor. The alleged offenders were located thanks in large part to ZachXBT’s investigation, which resulted in several arrests and the recovery of millions of dollars in pilfered money.
The Heist
Cybercriminals known as Greavys (Malone Iam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), and Box (Jeandiel Serrano) are accused of carrying out a phishing operation on August 19, 2024, with the victim being in Washington, D.C.
The perpetrators deceived the victim into resetting two-factor authentication (2FA) and sending money to a compromised wallet by pretending to be support staff from Google and Gemini. Using the remote access program AnyDesk, the group further compromised the victim by revealing private keys kept within the victim’s Bitcoin core.
ZachXBT made available transaction hashes that traced the movement of Bitcoin, verifying that 59.34 and 14.88 BTC were taken during the attack. A staggering 4,064 BTC, valued at $243 million at the time, was then transferred and swiftly distributed among the attackers.
Criminals’ Identities Unveiled
The identities of the thieves were discovered, according to ZachXBT’s thorough research, the specifics of which he published in an extensive Twitter thread that is highly recommended. Wiz (Veer Chetal) is said to have made a crucial mistake during a screenshare session, revealing his true identity.
Additionally, it is said that he and his friend Aakaash (Light/Dark) tried to use exchanges like eXch and Thorswap to launder the stolen money. They used addresses to connect laundered monies to the stolen assets despite their best attempts to hide their tracks.
Greavys, a major player in the scheme, showed off his newfound money by acquiring ostentatious cars and lavish evenings spent in Miami and Los Angeles. Investigators were able to locate him thanks to social media records of his ostentatious lifestyle.
During the theft, Box (Jeandiel Serrano), who pretended to be a Gemini agent, also left behind evidence connecting him to the pilfered money. Investigators were able to track down the owner of $18 million because of a sequence of blunders in cryptocurrency transactions and a shared profile photo across several networks.
Arrests and Asset Recovery
ZachXBT’s cooperation with @zeroshadow_io, @CFInvestigators, and the Binance Security Team led to the freezing of more than $9 million in assets, of which the victim has already received $500,000 back. His discoveries also resulted in the apprehension of Greavys and Box, who were detained on September 18, 2024, in Miami and Los Angeles, respectively.
Legal Proceedings
In a press statement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the charges against Malone Lam (also known as “Anne Hathaway” and “$$$”) and Jeandiel Serrano (also known as “VersaceGod” and “@SkidStar”) for allegedly conspiring to steal and launder cryptocurrency.
According to the indictment, the two and the other conspirators carried out a number of cryptocurrency thefts and used sophisticated money-laundering schemes to hide the proceeds. The two people showed up in U.S. District Court after being taken into custody.
The investigation conducted by ZachXBT was important in solving one of the biggest cases of cryptocurrency theft this year. Updates will come as the legal process develops, according to ZachXBT, as law enforcement works to break up the criminal network.
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