Man Who Went By 'Shrek' Pleads Responsible to Serving to Steal $263 Million in Crypto – Decrypt

U.S. prosecutors notched their newest victory in opposition to members of an alleged cybercrime ring on Tuesday, highlighting a responsible plea from a person working underneath the guise of Shrek.

Kunal Mehta, a 45-year-old primarily based in California, admitted to a conspiracy cost underneath the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, in addition to serving to launder a minimum of $25 million in crypto, the Justice Division mentioned in a press launch.

The person used a number of pseudonyms, in line with authorities, which weren’t restricted to the basic DreamWorks animated film sequence that initially debuted in 2001. He additionally glided by “Papa” and “The Accountant” (that are additionally film titles), the DOJ mentioned.

 “We’re dedicated to rooting out fraud and holding these accountable totally accountable,” U.S. Legal professional Jeanine Ferris Pirro mentioned in a press release. “Kunal Mehta alongside along with his co-conspirators stole lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} in cryptocurrency from victims.”

Authorities say that Mehta was a part of a gaggle that stole $263 million in crypto from victims throughout the U.S., as a part of a complicated social engineering and hacking operation. He was the eighth particular person to confess to their involvement within the scheme, in line with the press launch.

After laundering stolen funds by crypto exchanges and coin mixers, members of the group spent lavishly on “nightclubs, luxurious cars, watches, jewellery, designer purses, and rental properties in Los Angeles and Miami,” in line with a earlier DOJ press launch.

Authorities introduced costs in opposition to 13 people in a superseding indictment that was unveiled in April, with some co-defendants being as younger as 18 years previous on the time. Mehta was the oldest, and amongst 5 identified to stay in California.

Members of the group, which started working in October 2023, allegedly had distinct roles, whether or not that was hacking databases, figuring out targets, and even housebreaking. Mehta, amongst six others, “served as cash launderers,” in line with the superseding indictment.

Someday across the starting of final 12 months, Mehta was launched to members of the alleged cybercrime group, and he supplied “crypto-to-cash cash laundering companies for a price, in addition to crypto-to-wire cash laundering companies,” prosecutors alleged.

Mehta allegedly held unique automobiles in his identify to obscure their true possession. At one level, prosecutors say that Mehta additionally delivered “a duffel bag containing roughly $500,000” in money to a co-defendant and their associates after receiving stolen crypto.

It’s unclear which automobiles talked about within the indictment had been held in Mehta’s identify, however the submitting lists 28 automobiles topic to forfeiture. That included seven Lamborghinis, three Ferraris, a Rolls Royce, and a McLaren.