A YouTuber involved in an alleged band of bitcoin extortioners was arrested after leaving a blockchain trail for authorities to follow.
According to a report by Milenio, 25-year-old YouTuber German Abraham Loera Acosta was allegedly the ringleader for a band of kidnappers that abducted a woman in Chihuahua in February 2018. The group reportedly extorted authorities for $103,000 in bitcoin (2 million pesos) in exchange for the victim’s release.
After receiving the ransom, Acosta attempted to contact Mexican cryptocurrency exchange Bitso over Twitter as a potential avenue for laundering the crypto. Acosta pretended to be involved in the crypto gambling business.
He said,
I’d like to speak to you. We are the heads of marketing for the biggest bitcoin casinos in the world.
Bitso declined to respond to Acosta’s message.
Despite Chihuahua district attorney Cesar Penich describing Acosta as “very experienced” in internet communication, authorities were able to track the ransom via Bitcoin’s blockchain. Police arrested Acosta, in addition to seizing three vehicles, a handgun and mobile phones used in the kidnapping.
Acosta was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in the extortion scheme.
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