Jury Convicts Ex-Microsoft Worker in Digital Currency Scheme

A jury on Tuesday convicted a former Microsoft worker of wire fraud and other charges in what prosecutors described as a scheme to steal $10 million in digital currency. From a report: The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said 25-year-old Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Kvashuk helped test Microsoft's online retail sales platform. He was accused of stealing digital currency such as gift cards that could be redeemed for Microsoft products, then reselling them on the internet and using the proceeds to buy a $160,000 Tesla vehicle and a $1.7 million lakefront home. He was fired in June 2018 after the scheme came to light. Prosecutors said that during the seven months of his activity, $2.8 million in bitcoin was transferred into his bank accounts.

Greedy stupidity.

[RightSaidFred99]

Most of these types of numb-nuts could get away with this shit if they weren't so greedy. Pocket the money quietly, instead of trying to make $2.8M, get in and make a quick $1M, put the money away and don't spend it for a while, and completely remove yourself from any involvement in what you were doing.

It's the same reason you want to scream at the drug dealer with a heart of gold on TV to get out of the business with your millions instead of always pushing for more, more, more.

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[alvinrod]

Maybe he only thought he was going to make a few thousand dollars. When you suddenly hit a much bigger amount than you ever bargained for it’s probably more addictive than just about anything and because you know you’re not on any drugs you can assure yourself that you’re thinking clearly. All that aside, it’s just not in our DNA to settle and we always push a little bit further for good or ill. That and you never hear about the criminals that did the sensible thing and quitting whil

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[bloodhawk]

Even if he made more than he expected, going on a spending spree that makes it fucking obvious is just moronic. Dumb criminals like this make it easy for authorities. They also make it easier for the smart ones as it keeps the authorities busy with the low hanging fruit.

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[Pascoea]

Pretty much this. Money (and power) is a hell of a drug. (Hence the Gates-es and Bezos-es of the world. More money than you could realistically spend in a lifetime.) Dude could have socked away $1M and never had to save another dime for retirement. But once you've got the 1st $M, that 2nd doesn't look that far away. Next thing you know you're getting sloppy trying to chase the 3rd and 4th, when it all comes crashing down.

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[0111 1110]

That is not would I would do. I would turn the stolen money into cash and flee to a country with no extradition treaty asap. Hopefully before getting caught. Yes I would never be able to return to the US or travel to a country with extradition treaties with the US but I would have enough money to live without working for the rest of my life. It has always seemed strange to me when criminals have the chance to flee, but stick around waiting to go to jail instead.

He was an idiot

[Indy1]

I actually read some of the court filings on him. He did try using a VPN to disguise some of what he was doing, but the moron used google via a trackable account to search for terms like " PIA VPN", "PIA privacy" etc, and basically linked the PIA VPN IP address to him.

Moral of the story - if your going to do something shady.... Use tails and a public wifi FAR away from where you live

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[rtb61]

Every way you use a computer to hide, another computer can uncover, especially a more powerful one with smarter users. Computers can track in real time and once flagged, you either stop or it is only a matter of time. More detail " He used a bitcoin âoemixingâ service in an attempt to hide the source of the funds ultimately passing into his bank account."https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/former-microsoft-software-engineer-charged-mail-fraud-scheme-steal-digital-value-such. They are really hot o