Next court date set for Hamilton teen arrested in connection to $46-million Bitcoin theft
A Hamilton teen arrested in connection with the theft of $46-million worth of cryptocurrency appeared in virtual court Friday via the law firm representing him.
The physical courtroom at the John Sopinka Courthouse was desolate, except for a few staff and journalists, and the accused did not attend the virtual court Zoom session.
Charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of property or proceeds of property obtained by crime, the accused - who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act - will appear in court next on Dec. 24.
Hamilton police Det. Const. Kenneth Kirkpatrick previously told The Spectator he would not detail the role the teen, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, is accused of playing in the theft. However, he confirmed Hamilton police seized cryptocurrency in relation to the teen valued right now at $7 million Canadian.
The investigation into the multimillion-dollar theft involved the FBI and the United States Secret Service electronic crimes task force. They turned to Hamilton police early last year after a digital trail led investigators here.
The teen was arrested and charged in Mississauga in May 2020, but police didn't release the information until last week because of direction from U.S. authorities.
Authorities say this was the largest ever cryptocurrency theft from a single victim.
The victim of the theft, a California-based entrepreneur Josh Jones, came forward to U.S. authorities in early 2020. The investigation revealed the victim was targeted in a SIM swap attack - a scam where someone manipulates a cellphone provider into switching the victim's phone number over to a SIM card they own.
Once in control of the phone, the scammer can intercept two-factor authorizations and access accounts. In this case, the SIM swap was used to steal cryptocurrency, though this type of fraud can give the user access to everything on a person's phone.
Rumours about the theft had been circulating online since early 2020 after someone - suspected but not confirmed to be Jones - posted about it on Reddit. The post has since been taken down, but many comments included criticism for leaving such a large amount of Bitcoin accessible on a phone.
- With files from Nicole O'ReillyAlessia Passafiume is a reporter with The Spectator. Reach her via email: apassafiume@thespec.com