Security News > 2022 > November > Feds find Silk Road thief's $1b+ Bitcoin stash in popcorn tin, hidden safe

A crook who stole more than 50,000 Bitcoins from the dark web souk Silk Road in 2012 has pleaded guilty and lost the lot, with a stretch behind bars likely ahead of him.

James Zhong, 32, admitted committing wire fraud in September 2012 by creating nine Silk Road accounts he used to trigger "Over 140 transactions in rapid succession in order to trick Silk Road's withdrawal-processing system," the US Department of Justice said Monday.

That stunt, we're told, netted Zhong "Approximately 51,680.32473733 Bitcoins", which was worth over $3.6 billion when seized by Feds last year.

It sounds as though Zhong abused a design flaw in Silk Road to have funds held by the marketplace released to him, which he then laundered through various wallets in an attempt to conceal his identity.

The DoJ noted that it found Zhong's holdings "In an underground floor safe; and on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet" when it raided his home in November 2021.

Zhong, the DoJ pointed out, never bought or sold anything on Silk Road - he just took the cyber-crime hub for an exorbitant amount of digital currency.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/11/07/us_bitcoin_silk_road/