The US Department of Justice has filed charges against 12 individuals for their alleged involvement in the theft of over $263 million in cryptocurrency. The accused are connected to a prior investigation in which scammers managed to deceive a Genesis creditor, resulting in the loss of over $243 million.
According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the scammers used spoofing tactics to steal $243 million in digital assets from a Genesis creditor last year, before laundering the funds through cryptocurrency mixers. This week, several of the charged individuals, including both US nationals and foreign citizens, were taken into custody in California, as announced by the DOJ in a Thursday press release.
The remaining two suspects are currently residing abroad. The charges against the individuals include racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. Social engineering scams, which involve tricking users into divulging personal information to gain access to their cryptocurrency, are becoming increasingly common.
In a separate incident, Coinbase disclosed on Thursday that some of its overseas employees had been bribed by scammers, resulting in the theft of sensitive user data from its database. The exchange has volunteered to compensate affected users with an estimated $180 million to $400 million.