Prosecutors have announced that the now-shuttered cryptocurrency exchange FTX lost more than $400 million in cryptocurrencies in a SIM swap hack orchestrated by three individuals.
Citing an indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court in Washington, Bloomberg reported that cryptocurrency exchange FTX lost nearly $500 million worth of cryptocurrencies due to a SIM swap attack shortly after filing for bankruptcy.
Prosecutors say Robert Powell, Emily Hernandez and Carter Roan were part of a SIM swap ring targeting FTX for two years. The indictment alleges that the three collected personal data from numerous victims and used that information to persuade mobile phone providers to transfer the victims' phone numbers to unauthorized devices under their control. ing. The group could then intercept his messages containing texts containing multi-factor authentication codes.
Although FTX is not named in the indictment, sources familiar with the case confirm that “Victim Company-1” in the court filing does indeed refer to the notorious cryptocurrency exchange. Ta. Prosecutors detailed that on November 11, 2022, Emily Hernandez used a fake ID that included FTX employee details to persuade AT&T to transfer her cell phone account to another SIM card.
Robert Powell, also known online as “R$” and “ElSwapo1,” then attempted various authentication codes to gain access to FTX’s cryptocurrency wallet. The trio are charged with fraud and identity theft.
FTX made headlines when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2022, revealing an $8 billion shortfall in its exchange accounts, leading to its formal declaration of bankruptcy. . Its founder, Sam Bankman Freed, currently faces up to 100 years in prison on multiple charges.
