- Ohio citizen Gary Harmon, 31, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
- He stole 713 Bitcoin from a wallet belonging to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- Hackers are stealing cryptocurrency by accessing users’ email addresses. Is your email safe?
The United States District Court has convicted Bitcoin bath thief Gary Harmon of stealing 713 Bitcoin (BTC) from a wallet belonging to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Ohio citizen Gary Harmon, 31, deceived the IRS and stole 713 Bitcoin. US District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced Gary to four years in prison. The court also ordered him to surrender cryptocurrency and other assets worth over $20 million.
Bitcoin Thief Posed in a Bathtub Full of Money
According to Bloomberg, after stealing Bitcoin (BTC), Harmon used 68 BTC as collateral for a $1.2 million loan. He invested the loan money in luxury items like a house in Cleveland.
IRS agents became suspicious after seeing a photo of Harmon having fun in a bathtub full of dollars.
Image source: Bloomberg
How Did He Steal Bitcoin?
Gary Harmon is the brother of Larry Harmon, who was charged with money laundering involving cryptocurrency worth $311 million in 2021. COINOTAG reported that Larry admitted his guilt in 2021 and surrendered 4,400 BTC.
A Trezor wallet containing Bitcoin was held in an IRS evidence locker. However, during court proceedings, Harmon discovered that the government did not have the seed phrase to access the device.
With this information, he accessed the wallet and stole 713 Bitcoin.
Technically, Bitcoin is not stored in hardware wallets but acts as a portal that allows users to access their BTC stored on the blockchain. A user can access Bitcoin from another hardware wallet with the seed phrase.
Cryptocurrency Theft via Email Hack
As the digital asset class gains popularity, scammers are finding new vulnerabilities to steal users’ cryptocurrency. According to TechCrunch, scammers are accessing the email credentials of anyone with att.net, sbcglobal.net, bellsouth.net, and other AT&T email addresses.
Hackers are trying to reset the password of the user’s decentralized cryptocurrency exchange account through their email address. When hackers gain access to the exchange account, they steal users’ funds.
You can access COINOTAG’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis here.
