A Nebraska man is looking at 30 years in prison in connection with a major cryptojacking scheme.
According to an April 15 indictment from the United States Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, Charles O. Parks III, also known as “CP3O,” has been charged with defrauding two prominent cloud service providers.
Cryptojacking is a cyberattack in which attackers illegally “hijack” the victim’s system and mine cryptocurrency using its resources, such as processing power or electricity. The attack is executed in various forms and, in most cases, is undetected by the victim’s system until it is too late.
Parks allegedly stole $3.5 worth of computational resources offered by the service providers. The resources were then utilized to mine $970,000 worth of cryptocurrencies. The complete list of charges includes “wire fraud, money laundering, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions in connection with the scheme.”
The accused was apprehended on April 13, 2024, and the case is being led by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Park is set to appear before the federal court in Omaha on April 16.
“Criminals are becoming more adept at manipulating digital tools and hiding behind advanced technology, which often causes significant financial damage to their victims. The FBI is committed to the steadfast pursuit of those who attempt to develop innovative techniques to commit crimes,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
Park’s scheme was active from January 2021 to August 2021. During that period, he set up multiple accounts with the cloud service providers (plaintiffs) using various business names he created, such as “MultiMillionaire LLC” and “CP3O LLC.” He then used these accounts to access significant amounts of computer processing power and storage space, which he never paid for.
Further, Park managed to trick the plaintiffs into offering him elevated access to their services. Using the resources, he mined multiple cryptocurrencies, including Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR). He was also accused of deflecting inquiries about questionable data usage and deferring bills.
Prosecutors added that Park laundered the funds via multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, an NFT marketplace, and traditional bank accounts. The transactions were also structured in a way that avoids exceeding the federal reporting threshold of $10,000.
He used the illicit funds for personal gains, including buying a “Mercedes Benz luxury car, jewelry and first-class hotel and travel expenses.” If found guilty, he is expected to face a maximum of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 10 years for illegal transaction charges.
Another notable case of cryptojacking in 2024 is that of a 29-year-old who illicitly mined cryptocurrencies via one million virtual servers. The accused was arrested in Jan. 2024 by the National Police of Ukraine, claiming that over $2 million in cryptocurrencies was mined.
