The actions of authorities from the state of Delaware have been crucial to the takedown of personal information thief and hacker Grant West.
Another One Bites the Dust
According to British authorities, Grant West had been using phishing emails in order to lure people into revealing their personal information. This would oftentimes include passwords as well as credit card numbers.
He would afterward sell the information to third parties on the dark web and convert his proceedings into Bitcoin that he would store across different accounts at multiple locations.
West was arrested last year by UK authorities who were working undercover. The case marked a serious milestone for Scotland Yard as they had never before arrested a cybercriminal.
Delaware’s Actions A Key Component
A recent asset disclosure document reveals that the actions of U.S. Secret Service investigators in the state of Delaware helped the British police by seizing a total of $217,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from Grant West.
According to media outlet Delaware Online, the tiny U.S. state is a conjunction point for many banks and this is why it has been at the center of numerous large government seizures. The media outlet notes:
Delaware for years has been the site of large numbers of government seizures of dollars from the bank accounts of suspected criminals because so many banks keep their central servers in the First State. Now, that has expanded to include bitcoin and other cyptocurrency.
Reportedly, the seized bitcoins have been transferred into the custody of the United States Secret Service, then to the United States Marshals Service. However, it remains unclear whether the assets are there at the current time.
Delaware Online makes a rather interesting case, outlining that:
Because of similar criminal asset seizures, many Bitcoin analysts believe the U.S. government today controls more bitcoins than anyone else in the world.
An interesting point, indeed. This can be clearly seen by the upcoming auction by the U.S. Marshals Service where $4.3 million in bitcoins are to be sold.
What do you think of Delaware’s involvement in the case against Grant West? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
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