A Bitcoin Scam Can Lead to 20 Years of Imprisonment in the US

Canadian hacker found guilty in a Bitcoin Scam was sentenced to imprisonment of 20 Years in the US

The advancement of technology has also developed crypto scam issues worldwide. A new Bitcoin Scam came in light of Canadian citizen Sebastian Vachon-Desjardins, who netted nearly US$21 million in bitcoin from ransomware attacks on hospitals, schools, and the police. On Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) declared a US judge has sentenced him to 20 years behind bars.

The 35 years old Vachon-Desjardinswas planned a Bitcoin scam involved with NetWalker, a Russia-based group that targeted an attack on infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group offered ransomware as a service model and would take company data before demanding bitcoin. Attorneys uttered: "In this case, Vachon-Desjardins took the help of sophisticated technological means to exploit hundreds of victims in various countries at the height of an international health crisis," (via DoJ, our emphasis). NetWalker managed across 30 countries and targeted more than 400 victims, extracting nearly US$40 million in bitcoin ransom payments. Vachon-Desjardins is said to have contributed to a third of these ransomware attacks. Before getting into a crypto scam, he was working in an IT department for the Canadian government.

Vachon-Desjardins extradited to US

The Canadian terrorized a Tampa Bay company in April 2020 at the height of the covid pandemic. Somehow, he managed to perform a Bitcoin scam by accessing the company's computer network and spreading ransomware. The next day, employees logged on to find a message elucidating all files were encrypted. If they attempted to reboot their computer, they would have lost the files. The message added a code and a link to NetWalker's TOR site. Users could enter the code before receiving a ransom demand with instructions. Vachon-Desjardins demanded $300,000 in bitcoin.

"Hi! Your files are encrypted by NetWalker," the message displayed. "If for some reason you read this text before the encryption ended, this can be understood by the fact that the computer slows down, and your heart rate has increased…For us this is just business," it mentioned. US authorities asked for Vachon-Desjardins' arrest. Canadian police took him behind bars in Quebec on January 27, 2021. After searching his home, police seized over US$740,000 in Canadian dollars and 719 bitcoin, worth almost US$22 million at the time and US$14.5 million today.