Hacker Loses $21,849,087 in Bitcoin to Feds, Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
A Canadian hacker loses millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to the US government while facing decades in prison.
According to a new press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), 35-year-old Sebastian Vachon-Desjardins has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the NetWalker ransomware attacks and also ordered to forfeit $21.5 million. leading digital resource.
Authorities allege that Vachon-Desjardins masterminded the NetWalker hacks, which targeted victims worldwide by encrypting and exfiltrating information from Windows-based systems and demanding a ransom of BTC in exchange for decrypting the data.
Among the victims of the bad actor were corporations, municipalities, law enforcement agencies, and education providers such as colleges, universities, and school districts.
The hacker also specifically targeted healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic to take advantage of the troubling times to extort victims, according to the press release.
As stated by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. at the Ministry of Justice’s criminal department,
“The defendant identified and attacked high-value ransomware victims and profited from the chaos caused by encrypting and stealing the victims’ data.
Today’s sentence demonstrates that ransomware actors will face significant consequences for their crimes, and exemplifies the Department’s steadfast commitment to pursuing actors who participate in ransomware programs.”
At the time of his arrest in January 2021, authorities searched Vachon-Desjardin’s home and seized approximately $544,000 and 719 BTC, worth around $14.5 million at the time of writing.
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Featured image: Shutterstock/Ahmad Kurnia Sandy
