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from the making-amends(involuntarily) dept.
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Police to sell hacker's $1.1 million Bitcoin stash to compensate victims
UK police have seized over £920,000 ($1.1 million) worth of Bitcoin from a convicted hacker, which they plan to sell and compensate past victims.
The hacker, named Grant West, was arrested back in September 2017, and he pleaded guilty three months later in December. Earlier this year, a UK court sentenced West to 10 years and eight months in prison for multiple hacking and drug-related crimes.
Authorities said West used a tool called Sentry MBR to launch brute-force attacks against 17 companies, where he gained access to user accounts, which he later hijacked and resold on the dark web to other criminals.
London police said the list of victims included some high profile names such as Uber, Groupon, T Mobile, Just Eat, Asda, and Sainsburys; but also the likes of Ladbrokes, Argos, Nectar, AO.com, Coral Betting, Vitality, RS Feva Class Association 2017, the British Cardiovascular Society, Mighty Deals Limited, and M R Porter.
Authorities said West, who used the moniker of "Courvoisier," started trading stolen accounts on the dark web in March 2015, and made more than 47,000 sales before his arrest.
[...] He was arrested in the Ashcroft Caravan Park in Minster on the Isle of Sheppey following a years-long investigation authorities codenamed "Operation Draba." After his arrest and subsequent search of his trailer, authorities said they found £25,000 ($30,000), the drugs he was selling online, but also "a significant amount of bitcoins."
Now, Met Police have disclosed the Bitcoin sum they found, along with plans to use it to compensate victims.
Initially, West didn't want to give up his Bitcoin. However, the judge told him he'd spend an additional four years in prison if he didn't, according to a report from The Guardian.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday August 28 2019, @01:04PM (5 children)
If the criminal stole $1M from victims and spent $500K on hookers and blow, you'd expect the victims to receive something less than $0.50 on the dollar in restitution...
However, if the criminal steals $100K from victims, and invests it in BTC and it makes 10x gains, does that mean the victims receive closer to $10 on the dollar in restitution?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday August 28 2019, @01:40PM
Interesting question. But I'd think the amount would be fairer to be $100K + interest compounded for the periods of loss. Then hold on to the rest to pay out all the civil suits against the guy for the suffering.
It's one of these tempted-if-its-all-true to say this is justice. Also tempted to say strongarm coercion to avoid jail time isn't a fair way to administer justice. We have a conundrum. Kif, search him for paper! And bring me a rock! And blackjack, and hookers! Oh, forget the rock!
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Wednesday August 28 2019, @02:05PM
Do the police regularly compensate the victims? I honestly don't know; I assumed that insurance would cover the losses.
I'm also not sure what the standard behaviour is for criminal assets in the UK or US. If cash is discovered and clearly associated with theft, is it held as evidence? Who determines what asset is associated with a theft and what is a personal asset, which is suddenly very relevant for hiring legal advice? While the article says police are selling the bitcoin, I assume the sale and compensation is mandated by the court, as the summary also stipulates that the sale alleviates jail time.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by zocalo on Wednesday August 28 2019, @02:11PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Wednesday August 28 2019, @03:25PM (1 child)
Lawyers costs will be inflated until the entire recovered sum is consumed. Natch.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday August 28 2019, @04:03PM
This is what happens when you elect lawyers to the legislature - there ought to be a separation of bar and bill voters.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 28 2019, @02:15PM (6 children)
Remember, it is all Monopoly money until you actually convert it to real money. If they try to convert it all at once, it will probably cause an exchange panic and crash its value.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ikanreed on Wednesday August 28 2019, @03:06PM (1 child)
"Police to Sell Hacker's $1.1 Million Bitcoin Stash to Compensate Victims"
?
??
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday August 28 2019, @06:05PM
I don't get it.
If you can sell the ones and zeros that represent a song or software why not the ones and zeros that represent a bitcoin?
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Wednesday August 28 2019, @03:21PM
The best thing would be to transfer actual bitcoin to each victim and let them decide how to cash it out.
(Score: 4, Informative) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday August 28 2019, @03:29PM (2 children)
Bitcoin market cap, somewhere between 180 and 225 Billion USD. Source [blockchain.com].
1.1 Million USD in relation to that? 6/10,000ths of one percent.
Yeah. Doubt that will cause a panic. Maybe someone needs to learn relative percentages.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 28 2019, @04:04PM (1 child)
And someone needs to understand the difference between real and play money.
As for me, I'm moving my money into dutch tulips.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 28 2019, @05:41PM
"real money" says the dumb whore who funds the IRS and lets the federal reserve steal from the whole nation.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Wednesday August 28 2019, @03:11PM (4 children)
All the language in the article and summary say "plan to compensate" and "plan to sell". I know this is the UK and their police are less fucked up than ours, but is compensating victims something police are required to do by law, or is this basically "goodness of their hearts" executive fiat?
The latter is scary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 28 2019, @04:29PM (1 child)
It is even scarier if you paint Julian Assange and his fate into the picture of wholeness.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Wednesday August 28 2019, @05:46PM
Not... really?
Cops being cogs of an abusive machine is one problem, cops being given arbitrary authority to allocate ill gotten gains as they wish is another.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 28 2019, @05:47PM (1 child)
Not sure about the UK, but in many jurisdictions restitution is considered in sentencing. The part about him having to spend an extra four years in jail if he does not forfeit the bitcoin seems to support that.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Wednesday August 28 2019, @05:57PM
For some reason I am much more okay with a weirdo in a black dress and a wig making this kind of arbitrary decision than cops.