James Zhong is the Silk Road hacker who exploited a loophole in the withdrawal system in 2012 that allowed him to steal just over 50,000 bitcoins. Today they are worth nearly $3 billion.. Eleven years after the events, the man received a sentenced to a one-year prison term after the FBI seized his loot. He had pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
Silk Road hacker sentenced to one year
We learned in a press release from the US Department of Justice relayed by DailyHodl that the Silk Road hacker received a sentence of one year and one day in prison. He is accused of stealing around 50,000 BTC from Silk Road more than ten years ago.
” In 2012, James Zhong committed wire fraud by stealing 50,000 bitcoins from Silk Road, and for the next 10 years managed to conceal what he had done and how he had made his fortune. Zhong used a decentralized Bitcoin mixer, an overseas cryptocurrency exchange, and an impressive array of tech tools to thwart tracing efforts.
But thanks to the relentless and skillful efforts of law enforcement to follow the money, the feds uncovered the Silk Road hacker’s scheme.. The government obtained final confiscation orders for more than 51,680 bitcoins. » Can we read in the communicated.
Bitcoins that no longer know what to do with them
The press release tells us that Zhong was able to steal Silk Road’s money by creating numerous fraudulent accounts. The objective was to conceal his identity and deceive the withdrawal system. The Silk Road hacker was thus able to deceive the platform. Indeed, he has made numerous successive and rapid withdrawal requests. He has set up many sophisticated mechanisms to bring in untraceable money. But such a quantity rarely goes unnoticed. When arrested in November 2021, he held around 50,491 BTC. Separately, he held $661,900 in cash, silver bullion and gold coins as well as physical bitcoin.
In short, Zhong is doing quite well since he only received a year and a day in prison.. During this time, Ross William Ulbricht was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Was this an effective strategy to discourage other potential Silk Road creators?
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