only if this guy donated few satoshi to newbies on this platform who have no coins at all, what a waste !
if any whale watch this post and find my comment come on brother! you have alot and it won't make you poor so spare some coins here even few bucks will do huge favor. i am not selling anything or clickbaiting. i am being totally honest and straight forward i need few bitcoins for my upcoming generation, thanks bc1qrvm5x4gsp8dcm7kx9vf8lvuj0jkpupqlskearc
Topic: James Zhong captured for $3.4 billion worth stolen bitcoin- USA cracks hesit (Read 123 times)
November 14, 2024, 11:30:49 AM
April 14, 2023, 07:27:58 AM
This guy is rich, he is billionaire rich and may have hidden asset elsewhere. He will definitely pay high toll and stay away from the prison in the future.
Doesn't work like that.
If in an investigation he lies about the sums while making a plea bargain to be convicted only on the tax fraud and not on the theft he will be facing a multitude of extra charges afterward if caught again, not to mention he will not be able to enter another plea in the same case. He will get from the start 5 years for the breach in the agreement then another 5 years for hiding the funds and preventing assets forfeiture and on top of that again aggravated tax fraud, so if he tries to be smart again he is looking at another 15 years in jail and hard to find a judge that will not convict him again.
Besides they recovered almost all coins except for 2000BTC, 50,491 in the first batch, and then 1,004 from 53,500BTC , which were spent on different things, so that's hardly billionaire material.
April 14, 2023, 06:21:57 AM
There's no cracking of Bitcoin's anonymity because there's no Bitcoin anonymity in the first place. And it has been proven time and again that Bitcoin's pseudo-anonymity could be cracked.
Anyway, I can only read what's made available in the OP. It seems that Mr. Zhong is even lucky that the prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years only. Or is it only for his case of wire fraud for which he pleaded guilty? Surely, he'll have another case of theft, for example, or of buying illegal drugs.
Anyway, I can only read what's made available in the OP. It seems that Mr. Zhong is even lucky that the prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years only. Or is it only for his case of wire fraud for which he pleaded guilty? Surely, he'll have another case of theft, for example, or of buying illegal drugs.
@all,
yes definitely he is lucky dude considering the amount of money he has in his wallet and sweet punishment that he is going to receive. The same pseudo anonymity of the bitcoin will save him from the drug dealings or any illegal activities that he may have done because they may not reach the end source and may not prove him guilty for that part of act.
He will just do the 2 years for tax fraud and enjoy rest of his life freely. He may change himself later hopefully and just stay away from the illegal shit and go on with the life to fullest.
This story literally reminds me about the movie "Wolf of Wall Street".
This guy is rich, he is billionaire rich and may have hidden asset elsewhere. He will definitely pay high toll and stay away from the prison in the future.
April 13, 2023, 10:18:00 PM
There's no cracking of Bitcoin's anonymity because there's no Bitcoin anonymity in the first place. And it has been proven time and again that Bitcoin's pseudo-anonymity could be cracked.
Anyway, I can only read what's made available in the OP. It seems that Mr. Zhong is even lucky that the prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years only. Or is it only for his case of wire fraud for which he pleaded guilty? Surely, he'll have another case of theft, for example, or of buying illegal drugs.
Anyway, I can only read what's made available in the OP. It seems that Mr. Zhong is even lucky that the prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years only. Or is it only for his case of wire fraud for which he pleaded guilty? Surely, he'll have another case of theft, for example, or of buying illegal drugs.
April 13, 2023, 06:34:33 PM
That's a nice catch for them but especially that there's hundreds of millions to billions money that wasn't taxed, they really gonna run after Zhong. That 2 years of being sentenced in prison is just going to be a quick vacation on him and I doubt it that the FED have actually seized all of his fortunes(bitcoins) when they've raided his house. But if he's not really wise enough then there's still probably a few left on him or he has sent and passed it onto his family to take care of those funds.
He'd probably cooperated with the government and pleaded guilty, meaning, he has given all the access and private keys to the stash of his BTC and his computer so that the authorities can trace everything on who's who he deal with in the past.
Yeah, usually that's what they give for cooperating voluntarily and making the case easier for them to be solved. Lesser sentence and there's probably a huge bail that has been paid on this one + the taxes he needs to get paid but only if there's anything left for him. 
April 13, 2023, 06:27:57 PM
Federal officials closed Silk Road a year later on criminal grounds and seized computers that held its transaction records. The records didn’t reveal Mr. Zhong’s caper at first. Authorities hadn’t yet mastered how to track people and groups hidden behind blockchain wallet addresses, the series of letters and numbers used to anonymously send and receive cryptocurrency. One elemental feature of the system was the privacy it gave users.
Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.
In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.
Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.
Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.
......continue reading
Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.
In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.
Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.
Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.
......continue reading
So this is a matter of theft and tax fraud of many millions of dollars, yet the prosecutors are only pursuing charges for wire fraud and asking for 2 years?
Wonder if the guy's lawyer negotiated the time down in exchange for something valuable, whether it be information or the crypto funds he stole. Usually the feds will tack on charges and take you to trial because they have a 95% conviction rate to begin with so overcharging the defendant with crimes isn't too problematic. Certainly forces the defendant to take a plea deal.
He'd probably cooperated with the government and pleaded guilty, meaning, he has given all the access and private keys to the stash of his BTC and his computer so that the authorities can trace everything on who's who he deal with in the past.
Below is the forfeiture:
Quote
Forfeiture Actions
In connection with ZHONG’s guilty plea, on November 4, 2022, Judge Gardephe entered a Consent Preliminary Order of Forfeiture as to Specific Property and Substitute Assets/Money Judgment forfeiting ZHONG’s interest in the following property:
ZHONG’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, LLC, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings;
$661,900 in United States currency seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
Metal items, consisting of four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin, all seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
11.1160005300044 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
25 Casascius coins (physical Bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, collectively, seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
23.7112850 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 27, 2022;
115.02532155 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 28, 2022; and
4.57427222 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on June 8, 2022.
In connection with ZHONG’s guilty plea, on November 4, 2022, Judge Gardephe entered a Consent Preliminary Order of Forfeiture as to Specific Property and Substitute Assets/Money Judgment forfeiting ZHONG’s interest in the following property:
ZHONG’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, LLC, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings;
$661,900 in United States currency seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
Metal items, consisting of four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin, all seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
11.1160005300044 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
25 Casascius coins (physical Bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, collectively, seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
23.7112850 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 27, 2022;
115.02532155 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 28, 2022; and
4.57427222 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on June 8, 2022.
Official court documents: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-historic-336-billion-cryptocurrency-seizure-and-conviction
And no surprise that it is a tax fraud because the agency that is involved here is the IRS.
April 13, 2023, 04:21:53 PM
I have yet to receive any contact. Will be on vacation with spotty internet until Monday.
He was really going away for a long time, just didn't know when and for how long
It's funny now, that we know how he ended up, that this was his last post here.
He wasn't very smart.
"In March 2019, he unwittingly tipped off the authorities to his large stash of Bitcoin, after he reported a burglary at his Ruth Street home in Athens, Georgia. Zhong told local police that a briefcase containing $400,000 and a USB thumb drive containing personal information had been stolen, which raised red flags and triggered an investigation by the IRS."
If you're interested in some pictures, here's an illustrated story.
https://nationalsecuritynews.com/2022/11/the-crook-nick-named-loaded-who-handed-over-one-billion-in-stolen-bitcoin-but-has-he-hidden-away-more/
April 13, 2023, 04:06:23 PM
Federal officials closed Silk Road a year later on criminal grounds and seized computers that held its transaction records. The records didn’t reveal Mr. Zhong’s caper at first. Authorities hadn’t yet mastered how to track people and groups hidden behind blockchain wallet addresses, the series of letters and numbers used to anonymously send and receive cryptocurrency. One elemental feature of the system was the privacy it gave users.
Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.
In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.
Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.
Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.
......continue reading
Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.
In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.
Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.
Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.
......continue reading
So this is a matter of theft and tax fraud of many millions of dollars, yet the prosecutors are only pursuing charges for wire fraud and asking for 2 years?
Wonder if the guy's lawyer negotiated the time down in exchange for something valuable, whether it be information or the crypto funds he stole. Usually the feds will tack on charges and take you to trial because they have a 95% conviction rate to begin with so overcharging the defendant with crimes isn't too problematic. Certainly forces the defendant to take a plea deal.
April 13, 2023, 05:56:08 AM
James Zhong surprisingly possessed more than 50,000 Bitcoin and you would not believe how he got them all. By stealing the Bitcoin with Silk Road website, which was involved in criminal transactions.
There was a catch on the website. Zhong used to buy cocaine from the Dark Web, and when he accidentally clicked withdraw button twice on one of the sites, he received double the amount of bitcoin that he deposited with them. This was shocking for him.
He became $600,000 worth rich in just a few hours after working out some strategy behind it and stole 50K bitcoins in no time.
By 2021, his Bitcoin became worth $3.4 billion and he was a billionaire of the time. He lived a lavish life, with beach homes, Ferrari at the door, a $150,000 Tesla, and partying all the time.
Zhong was arrested after Warrant was issued by FED. They seized his computers and keys and also traced down the world of criminals with that information. His transactions linked back to every crime that he might have done or someone who was a criminal as well.
After the USA seized many transactions like that (~ $10 billion in the past two years), many investors believe blockchain is fun and serious stuff at the same time.
I would recommend reading the whole story in the article linked. IT walks you through Zhong's life and how he committed this crime from the young age of 21 years old!
The U.S. Cracked a $3.4 Billion Crypto Heist—and Bitcoin’s Anonymity
There was a catch on the website. Zhong used to buy cocaine from the Dark Web, and when he accidentally clicked withdraw button twice on one of the sites, he received double the amount of bitcoin that he deposited with them. This was shocking for him.
He became $600,000 worth rich in just a few hours after working out some strategy behind it and stole 50K bitcoins in no time.
By 2021, his Bitcoin became worth $3.4 billion and he was a billionaire of the time. He lived a lavish life, with beach homes, Ferrari at the door, a $150,000 Tesla, and partying all the time.
Zhong was arrested after Warrant was issued by FED. They seized his computers and keys and also traced down the world of criminals with that information. His transactions linked back to every crime that he might have done or someone who was a criminal as well.
After the USA seized many transactions like that (~ $10 billion in the past two years), many investors believe blockchain is fun and serious stuff at the same time.
Quote
“If there’s one thing the blockchain does really well, it preserves evidence perfectly,” said Jonathan Levin, a pioneer cryptocurrency sleuth and one of the founders of Chainalysis.
I would recommend reading the whole story in the article linked. IT walks you through Zhong's life and how he committed this crime from the young age of 21 years old!
Quote
James Zhong appeared to have pulled off the perfect crime.
In December 2012, he stumbled upon a software bug while withdrawing money from his account on Silk Road, an online marketplace used to hide criminal dealings behind the seemingly bulletproof anonymity of blockchain transactions and the dark web. Mr. Zhong, a 22-year-old University of Georgia computer-science student at the time, used the site to buy cocaine.
“I accidentally double-clicked the withdraw button and was shocked to discover that it resulted in allowing me to withdraw double the amount of bitcoin I had deposited,” he later said in federal court. After the first fraudulent withdrawal, Mr. Zhong created new accounts and with a few hours of work stole 50,000 bitcoins worth around $600,000, court papers from federal prosecutors show.
Federal officials closed Silk Road a year later on criminal grounds and seized computers that held its transaction records. The records didn’t reveal Mr. Zhong’s caper at first. Authorities hadn’t yet mastered how to track people and groups hidden behind blockchain wallet addresses, the series of letters and numbers used to anonymously send and receive cryptocurrency. One elemental feature of the system was the privacy it gave users.
Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.
In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.
Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.
Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.
......continue reading
In December 2012, he stumbled upon a software bug while withdrawing money from his account on Silk Road, an online marketplace used to hide criminal dealings behind the seemingly bulletproof anonymity of blockchain transactions and the dark web. Mr. Zhong, a 22-year-old University of Georgia computer-science student at the time, used the site to buy cocaine.
“I accidentally double-clicked the withdraw button and was shocked to discover that it resulted in allowing me to withdraw double the amount of bitcoin I had deposited,” he later said in federal court. After the first fraudulent withdrawal, Mr. Zhong created new accounts and with a few hours of work stole 50,000 bitcoins worth around $600,000, court papers from federal prosecutors show.
Federal officials closed Silk Road a year later on criminal grounds and seized computers that held its transaction records. The records didn’t reveal Mr. Zhong’s caper at first. Authorities hadn’t yet mastered how to track people and groups hidden behind blockchain wallet addresses, the series of letters and numbers used to anonymously send and receive cryptocurrency. One elemental feature of the system was the privacy it gave users.
Mr. Zhong moved the stolen bitcoins from one account to another for eight years to cover his tracks. By late 2021, the red-hot crypto market had raised the value of his trove to $3.4 billion. He still lived in a modest house in Athens, Ga., and dressed in shorts and T-shirts. He also had a lake-house getaway in Gainesville, Ga., a Lamborghini sports car and a $150,000 Tesla.
In November 2021, federal agents surprised Mr. Zhong with a search warrant and found the digital keys to his crypto fortune hidden in a basement floor safe and a popcorn tin in the bathroom. Mr. Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of less than two years.
Mr. Zhong’s case is one of the highest-profile examples of how federal authorities have pierced the veil of blockchain transactions. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous.
Law-enforcement agencies, working with cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analytics companies, have compiled data gleaned from earlier investigations, including the Silk Road case, to map the flow of cryptocurrency transactions across criminal networks worldwide. In the past two years, the U.S. has seized more than $10 billion worth of digital currency through successful prosecutions, according to the Internal Revenue Service—in essence, by following the money. Instead of subpoenas to banks or other financial institutions, investigators can look to the blockchain for an instant snapshot of the money trail.
......continue reading
The U.S. Cracked a $3.4 Billion Crypto Heist—and Bitcoin’s Anonymity
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