California Supreme Court has ordered Nicholas Truglia, a resident of Manhattan, to pay $75.8 million to Michael Terpin in a case related to the theft of cryptocurrency. According to Terpin, a cryptocurrency investor and the US Entrepreneur, the 21-year-old Truglia along with his friends defrauded him of the digital currencies.
Terpin filed a complaint in Los Angeles based US district court in January after noticing the theft of three million tokens worth $23.8 million from the account of his cell phone in the early part of 2018. He named AT&T as the service provider in the complaint.
Truglia controlled phone number
Truglia and others took control of the phone number of Terpin fraudulently. They have reset the online accounts and password using the phone number. They have transferred three million tokens from the account of Terpin illegally.
The law enforcement authorities have arrested Truglia in November. They are investigating the case because Truglia is also involved in six other crimes. Terpin plans to file a case against others involved in the theft of digital tokens from his account.
According to an affidavit submitted by Chris David, a former friend, Truglia indulged in a luxury life that involves Rolex Watches, sports cars and private jets before the arrest.
Cipher Trace, a cybersecurity company, said the losses of cryptocurrency fraud and theft has increased to $1.2 billion in Q1. It is an increase of 70% from the same period last year.
Hackers move $40 million worth bitcoin
The hackers have transferred the stolen bitcoins worth over $40 million from a major Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange to the digital wallets. Around 7,000 bitcoins are stolen on Wednesday through the use of viruses and phishing. It is the latest hack in the cryptocurrency thefts worldwide.
The hackers moved the stolen bitcoins to several digital wallets leaving no clues. The recent thefts are a major concern for the large investors in the cryptocurrency space. It raises questions on safety of the digital coins regarding storage and trade. The high profile hacks are ringing alarm bells to the regulators.
According to Coinfirm, it is possible to trace the movement of cryptocurrency coins. It is difficult to find the location and identity of the hackers. However, the cybersecurity experts can get the clues to the identity of the hackers when they move the stolen coins to the cryptocurrency exchange for conversion to traditional money.
