US Department Of Justice Seizes $3.36B In Bitcoin From Silk Road Dark Web Fraud

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that it seized around $3.3 billion in Bitcoin BTC/USD from a hacker who stole the cryptocurrency from the Silk Road dark web internet marketplace in September 2012.

The hacker, identified as James Zhong, pled guilty before a New York City court to committing wire fraud and stealing 50,676 Bitcoin from Silk Road.

Silk Road was an online “darknet” black market. 

In operation from approximately 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to buyers and to launder all funds passing through it.

The Accused Tricked the Marketplace To Sending Him Large Quantities Of Bitcoin

Through a variety of fictitious accounts, Zhong was able to trick the Silk Road payment processor into sending him Bitcoin.

Also Read: China Holds $6 Billion Worth Of Crypto, Could 'Kill' Crypto Markets If It Wishes: Analyst

A Massive Cache Of Goods Recovered

The Justice Department stated that on Nov. 9, 2021, a search of Zhong’s house led to the recovery of 51,680.32473733 Bitcoin; Zhong’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings; $661,900 cash and several metals.

“James Zhong committed wire fraud over a decade ago when he stole approximately 50,000 Bitcoin from Silk Road. For almost 10 years, the whereabouts of this massive chunk of missing Bitcoin had ballooned into an over $3.3 billion mystery,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

“This case shows that we won’t stop following the money, no matter how expertly hidden, even to a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn tin,” he added.

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Photo: increation87 via Shutterstock