Irish man receives three-year prison sentence, stole $2.5 million in crypto via SIM hacks
DUBLIN, Ireland — A 21-year-old Irish man is heading to prison for three years on various charges, including cryptocurrency theft.
Conor Freeman would receive his sentence in criminal court Tuesday, pleading guilty on various charges, including “guile and deception.” This is according to Dublin Circuit Judge Martin Nolan.
A report from The Irish Times would reveal that Freeman was found guilty of engaging in the possession of the proceeds of his crime. Additionally, other charges would include theft and dishonest operation of a computer.
At the time of his arrest, Freeman had 142.7 Bitcoin in his possession, worth just over $2.5 million at the time. It is currently worth $2.6 million as of press time.
Freeman not alone in the crypto heist and other criminal activities
An investigation reveals that Freeman was among a group of six men hacking cryptocurrency accounts. The activity would take place over a three-day period in May 2018.
This is in clear contrast to what his legal counsel had expressed in court, calling Freeman “very much a loner” in his younger years.
The group would identify three potential victims on social media, in which they had the email addresses and phone numbers. Then they would contact mobile operators to transfer each victim’s phone number to a SIM card that the group would purchase.
The group would use password recovery methods on various platforms and would send it to the victim’s phone number.
Later, the proceeds would be split between the group.
What do we know about the victims?
The three victims who were a target by this criminal group were Darran Marble, Seth Sharpiro, and Micheal Templeman.
Between the three, they would, respectively, lose $100,000, just over $1.9 million, and $167,000 in cryptocurrency holdings as a result.
Freeman had the responsibility of sifting through their emails to identify crypto accounts.
At the time of his arrest by the Irish Gardai, Freeman had already spent $153,996 of his share.
It is not currently certain how much of the stolen cryptocurrency will be recovered. However, there will be some recovery: Freeman voluntarily gave up an electronic wallet containing the remaining Bitcoin, as well as access keys.
Where are the other five co-conspirators?
The other five members of this group reside in the United States, and their fate is currently unknown. It is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Additionally, part of the reason why Freeman would face arrest is Homeland Security’s identification of him using various online monikers.
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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
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