bitcoin fraud in Microsoft: programmer Vladimir Kvashuk convicted
A court in the United States sentenced former Microsoft programmer Vladimir Kvashuk to prison for theft, money laundering and bitcoin fraud. Damage from his scheme exceeded $10 million, according to a press release from the Ministry of Justice.
A citizen of Ukraine living in Washington, DC, worked at Microsoft from August 2016 to June 2018. He tested the company’s online retail sales platform, through which he stole and sold digital gift cards.
how did he do bitcoin fraud?
Kvashuk used the test accounts of his colleagues and a bitcoin mixer to cover up the crime. In seven months, about $2.8 million in bitcoins was transferred to his bank accounts – in a tax return, an ex-employee said he received crypt currency from a relative.
With stolen funds, he bought a house on the lake shore worth $1.6 million and a Tesla car for $160,000.
Kvashuk was sentenced to nine years in prison for concealing taxable income, fraudulent declarations, theft, bitcoin fraud and money laundering. The court also ordered him to pay more than $8 million in damages.
Recall that in November, an American court sentenced a Russian citizen Alexander Brovko to eight years in prison for theft and sale of personal data. Damage from the criminal scheme was estimated at more than $100 million.
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