Nigerian scammers converted millions of dollars into Bitcoin via Gemini exchange according to an FBI criminal complaint
According to the FBI, Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as “Mr. Woodbery,” and “Mark Kain,” and Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who used the aliases “Ray Hushpuppi” and “Hush” have been accused of participating in a plan called business email compromise or BEC. A criminal will have access to a legitimate business email account and then manipulate the company’s employees to transfer the company’s money to the criminal’s bank account. The complaint alleges that Ponle and his accomplices deceived US companies for tens of millions of dollars while converting $ 6.5 million into 1,500 Bitcoin through the Gemini exchange.
Transaction summary for Bitcoin address 16AtGJbaxL2kmzx4mW5ocpT2ysTWxmacWn | Source: Crystal Blockchain
FBI complaints focus on how criminals use Bitcoin to transfer stolen money
The FBI stated:
“Preliminary blockchain analysis indicates that PONLE received at least 1,494.71506296 bitcoin related to these BEC schemes, valued at approximately $ 6,599,499.98 at the time he received the proceeds.”
The complaint clearly shows that Ponle has not been terribly concerned about hiding his tracks on the Bitcoin network because he has been using the same address (16AtGJbaxL2kmzx4mW5ocpT2ysTWxmacWn) since 2014, although the complaint only focused on activity. His illegality in 2019.
Gemini is the favorite exchange of criminals. On February 15, 2019, Ponle associates confirmed that $ 2,149,000 was successfully deposited into Gemini and converted into BTC. These transactions, when tracked on the Bitcoin blockchain, amount to 340 and 261 BTC per transaction, totaling 601 BTC. At the time, the Bitcoin price was around $ 3,500.
A discussion between Ponle and his associate of the Feb. 15, 2019 transaction
Another transaction took place on January 17, 2019, when Ponle’s accomplice converted $ 119,000 into 33.13 BTC – in an FBI complaint, instead, it was mistaken for 3.13. This transaction originated from an unknown address, but it was only a Kraken exchange. However, the latter is not mentioned in the complaint.
In July, the FBI was able to penetrate into the inner circle of Ponle. On September 9, 2019, a discussion between Ponle and his colleagues about the conversion of $ 5 million to Bitcoin took place.
Unknown to Ponle, this time, it was an FBI agent at the other end of the conversation. Although the complaint did not specify, this transaction probably never happened because it was impossible to identify any related transaction with the BTCA 16AtGJ Wallet.
LocalBitcoin & Huobi are also favorite crime destinations
While Gemini is an options exchange to convert stolen fiat into Bitcoin, LocalBitcoins and Huobi are more suitable options for cash withdrawal. According to Crystal Blockchain, 577 BTC was deleted via the first one and 539 BTC via the latter. Both have been criticized for loose KYC procedures in the past.
Gemini declined to comment on this situation, although the exchange is using Chainalysis to monitor risks. The FBI declined Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
The article is referenced based on Cointelegraph.
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