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A “LONE” who participated in the online theft of more than $ 2 million in cryptocurrency has been jailed for just under three years.
Conor Freeman (21) was identified by the United States Department of Homeland Security as part of the robberies. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that five co-defendants are before the United States courts.
After his arrest, Freeman handed over what was left of his share of the robbery to gardaí who, due to the increase in the value of Bitcoin in the interim period, is now worth more than $ 2 million (equivalent to around € 1, 68 million).
Freeman, of Glenageary Court, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, pleaded guilty to knowingly participating in the possession of the proceeds of crime, namely 142.75682712 Bitcoin.
He further pleaded guilty to stealing $ 100,000 worth of cryptocurrencies from Darran Marble on May 15, 2018, stealing cryptocurrencies worth approximately $ 1,921,335 from Seth Sharpiro on May 16, 2018, and stealing cryptocurrencies worth approximately $ 167,622.22 by Micheal Templeman on May 18, 2018.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly operating a computer for profit on dates between May 15 and May 18, 2018. He has no prior convictions.
In passing the sentence today, Judge Martin Nolan said that every system that has been developed has its weaknesses because all systems must be easy to use.
The judge said that stealing money from this order is serious because no one can know what effect it will have on the victim.
He noted that Sharpiro’s life savings were taken and proceeds from the sale of his home were stolen.
He also said there was “near-perfect mitigation” in this case, with factors like Freeman’s guilty plea, his cooperation, no prior convictions, his youth, his abilities that can contribute to society, and that he’s unlikely to return. -to offend.
The judge said the crime involved “cunning and deception” and that a custodial sentence was justified despite the mitigation to punish the defendant, deter him and deter others.
He sentenced Freeman to three years in prison, but reduced the sentence to two years and 11 months in prison to give him credit for the time he already spent in custody.
Internet identifiers
At a previous sentencing hearing, Sergeant Tom Anderson told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that Freeman was identified by the United States Department of Homeland Security as the person behind certain Internet identifiers connected to the crimes.
The garda sergeant said Freeman was part of a group of people who had met online.
This group identified people on social media who they believed could have access to a certain amount of cryptocurrency.
The group was able to access the email addresses and phone numbers of these people through social media, which was information necessary to commit the crimes.
Freeman’s co-conspirators knew of people working in telecommunications who transferred the phone numbers of potential victims to SIM cards bought by the group.
The co-conspirators would initiate the protocols that are in effect in the event that people forget their passwords to gain access to the online accounts of potential victims.
After his co-conspirators gained access to these people’s email exchanges, Freeman would go through these exchanges and identify the sources of the cryptocurrencies they owned.
The proceeds of the robberies would be divided equally between all parties involved.
The court heard that there are five co-defendants with Freeman who are in court in the United States.
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Freeman spent a sum of approximately € 130,000, which he had converted into cash from the stolen cryptocurrency.
Electronic wallet
After his arrest, Freeman gave Gardaí an electronic wallet containing the remaining Bitcoin he acquired from the robbery.
Bitcoin has accelerated in value since the thefts, leading to this number of cryptocurrencies currently being valued at roughly $ 2,002,785.
The Garda Sgt. Agreed with Paul O’Carroll SC, arguing that Freeman’s delivery of the electronic wallet and the provision of codes to access the funds was “a somewhat exceptional assistance.”
The garda sergeant agreed with Freeman’s attorney that there was no evidence that his client had been in communication with other members of the group in two years and that Freeman said in an interview that he had cut all ties with them.
The lawyer said his client was “very lonely” when he was a teenager who returned to an online world.
He said his client started “hacking” other people’s accounts during online games and that he did not do it for monetary gain, but for “excitement.”
The lawyer acknowledged that a large amount of money was taken during the criminal enterprise and that the enterprise was “sophisticated.” He described his client’s attendance at the prosecution as “extraordinary.”
The judge said white-collar crimes “require a lot of intelligence,” adding that Freeman has a lot of intelligence and that he had misapplied it.
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