U.S. prosecutors applied to confiscate 50,000 bitcoins from fraudsters, whose current market value is $1 billion (about NT$32 billion).

(Reuters)

[Instant News/Comprehensive Report] The US Internal Revenue Service raided the residence of fraudster James Zhong in Georgia last November and seized 50,000 bitcoins stolen from the illegal online platform "Silk Road". 1 billion US dollars (about 32 billion New Taiwan dollars), the US federal prosecutors have applied for the confiscation of this batch of bitcoins on the 7th.

According to a report by Reuters, James Zhong, 32, deceived the Silk Road system in 2012 to send bitcoin to his account. When it was cracked in 2021, the market value once exceeded 3.3 billion US dollars (about NT$105.6 billion). ), but the price is currently 2/3 less.

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Such a staggering amount has become the second largest case in the history of the US Department of Justice.

James Zhong admitted to committing wire fraud on the 4th of this month. Michael Bachner, the appointed lawyer, emphasized that the defendant had handed over almost all the bitcoins, and he was very remorseful for his 22-year-old behavior.

In addition to the bitcoin, James Zhong also agreed to the confiscation of his real estate company shares and $661,900 (approximately NT$21.18 million).

The court will hand down his sentence on February 22 next year, with an estimated jail term of between 27 and 33 months, but it is likely to increase as the prosecution seeks.

It is understood that "Silk Road" is a huge online market for illegal money laundering and drug trading. Its founder, Ross Ulbricht, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 for seven counts of selling drugs through Bitcoin. An appeal was unsuccessful in 2017.