Pennsylvania Resident Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Role In Conspiracy To Defraud And Extort Cryptocurrency Executives 2023.8.18……【Attorney】【U.S.】SAN FRANCISCO – Anthony Francis Faulk was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution for his role in a conspiracy to defraud more than a dozen cryptocurrency owners, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable William H. Orrick, United States District Judge. The Court also ordered forfeiture of numerous assets constituting or derived from proceeds obtained by Faulk’s crime.
➤【美国】宾夕法尼亚州居民因串谋诈骗和勒索加密货币高管而被判处三年监禁
旧金山——美国检察官伊斯梅尔·J·拉姆齐 (Ismail J. Ramsey) 和联邦调查局特工罗伯特·K·特里普（Robert K. Tripp）宣布，安东尼·弗朗西斯·福克 (Anthony Francis Faulk) 因串谋诈骗十多名加密货币所有者而被判处 36 个月监禁，并被责令支付近 300 万美元的赔偿金。该判决由美国地区法官威廉·H·奥里克阁下作出。法院还下令没收福克犯罪所得的大量资产或源自福克犯罪所得的收益。
26 岁的福克来自宾夕法尼亚州拉特罗布，他在 2023 年 3 月 2 日提交的一份书面认罪协议中承认了自己在这一串谋诈骗案中所扮演的角色。根据他的认罪协议，从 2016 年 10 月到 2018 年 5 月，福克使用化名“shade”，与 Matthew Ditman（又名“crump 勋爵”）和 Ahmad Hared（又名“special547”又名“winblo”）合谋诈骗和勒索加密货币所有者。该骗局涉及“SIM卡交换”——欺骗手机公司让福克及其同谋控制受害者的手机号码，利用该访问权限侵入电子邮件和其他受害者账户，最终窃取受害者的加密货币或数字资产。
SIM 代表订户身份模块或订户识别模块。SIM 卡是一种用于识别和验证移动电话设备上的用户的技术。根据他的认罪协议，福克承认，他使用欺诈、欺骗和社会工程技术，诱使手机服务提供商的代表将受害者设备中的 SIM 卡上的手机号码转移或移植到共谋成员所拥有的设备中的 SIM 卡上，一旦掌握了非法获得的信息，共谋成员就会重置受害者的电子邮件、电子存储和其他帐户的密码。然后，同谋者就能够控制账户，访问加密货币账户，并将加密货币从受害者拥有的账户转移到福克及其同谋控制的账户或钱包。
福克还承认，除了转移加密货币外，同谋者还通过电话联系了一些受害者，并威胁称，除非受害者向欺诈者支付额外的钱，否则他们将进一步泄露账户。
福克被责令向该计划的 11 名受害者支付 2,816,433 美元的赔偿金。（在此事被起诉后，福克在单独的刑事案件中受到指控，承认一项共谋洗钱罪名，并被责令向另外两名受害者支付赔偿金。）法院还下令没收政府扣押的大量资产，这些资产构成或衍生自可追溯到共谋的收益。这些资产包括位于宾夕法尼亚州拉特罗布的价值近 100 万美元的住宅；三个摩根大通账户总计分别约为 12,525,592 美元、6,242,919 美元和 18,118 美元；2018 款梅赛德斯-奔驰 GTS；2018 款日产 Rouge；2019 款雪佛兰索罗德 K1500；钻石首饰；劳力士；蒂芙尼耳环；还有路易威登手提包和钱包。
2019 年 12 月 10 日，联邦大陪审团对福克提出起诉，指控他犯有一项违反《美国法典》18 U.S. C. § 1349共谋实施电信欺诈罪，以及一项违反《美国法典》18 U.S.C. § 875(d)意图勒索的州际通信罪。 根据认罪协议，福克承认共谋罪。根据政府的动议，奥里克法官在量刑听证会上驳回了勒索罪名。
Hared和Ditman分别受到指控。Hared的宣判日期为 2023 年 8 月 31 日，Ditman的宣判日期为 2023 年 10 月 12 日。

PRESS RELEASE
Pennsylvania Resident Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Role In Conspiracy To Defraud And Extort Cryptocurrency Executives
Friday, August 18, 2023

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California

Court ordered forfeiture of approximately $20 million in ill-gotten gains

SAN FRANCISCO – Anthony Francis Faulk was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution for his role in a conspiracy to defraud more than a dozen cryptocurrency owners, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable William H. Orrick, United States District Judge. The Court also ordered forfeiture of numerous assets constituting or derived from proceeds obtained by Faulk’s crime.

Faulk, 26, of Latrobe, Penn., acknowledged his role in the conspiracy in a written plea agreement filed on March 2, 2023. According to his plea agreement, from October 2016 through May 2018, Faulk, using the alias “shade,” conspired with Matthew Ditman, aka “lord crump,” and Ahmad Hared, aka “special547” aka “winblo,” to defraud and extort cryptocurrency owners. The scheme involved “SIM swapping”—duping cellphone companies into giving Faulk and his co-conspirators control of victims’ cellphone numbers, using that access to hack into email and other victim accounts, and ultimately stealing the victims’ cryptocurrency or digital assets.

SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module. A SIM card is a technology used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile phone devices. According to his plea agreement, Faulk admitted that he used fraud, deception, and social engineering techniques to induce representatives of cellphone service providers to transfer or port cellphone numbers from SIM cards in the devices possessed by victims to SIM cards in devices possessed by members of the conspiracy. Once in possession of the illegally obtained information, members of the conspiracy reset passwords of their victims’ email, electronic storage, and other accounts. The co-conspirators then were able to control the accounts, access cryptocurrency accounts, and transfer cryptocurrencies from accounts owned by the victims to accounts or wallets controlled by Faulk and his co-conspirators.

Faulk also admitted that, in addition to transferring cryptocurrencies, the co-conspirators contacted some of their victims by telephone and threatened to compromise further accounts unless the victims paid additional money to the fraudsters.

Faulk was ordered to pay $2,816,433 in restitution to 11 victims of the scheme. (After the indictment in this matter, Faulk was charged in separate criminal case, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and was ordered to pay restitution to two additional victims.) The court also ordered forfeiture of numerous assets, seized by the government, constituting or derived from proceeds traceable to the conspiracy. Those assets include a nearly $1 million home in Latrobe, Pennsylvania; three J.P. Morgan Chase accounts totaling approximately $12,525,592, $6,242,919, and $18,118, respectively; a 2018 Mercedes-Benz GTS; a 2018 Nissan Rouge; a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado K1500; diamond jewelry; a Rolex; Tiffany earrings; and a Louis Vuitton handbag and wallet.

On December 10, 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Faulk, charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S. C. § 1349, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(d). Pursuant to his plea agreement, Faulk pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count. On the government’s motion, Judge Orrick dismissed the extortion count at the sentencing hearing.

Hared and Ditman were separately charged. Hared’s sentencing is set for August 31, 2023, and Ditman’s for October 12, 2023.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Robert Leach is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Mimi Lam and Megan Pagaduan. This case is the result of an investigation from FBI.

Updated August 18, 2023