Bitcoin
Two men netted more than £5.7m for cryptocurrency fraud that saw them hoard a suitcase of £551,000 in cash and £60,000 Banksy after targeting 55 victims from around the world
Two men have been jailed for stealing more than £5.7 million worth of cryptocurrencies from 55 victims across the world in a fraudulent plot that saw them amass a suitcase full of £551,000 in cash and £60,000 Banksy work of art.
Jake Lee, 38, from Bath and James Heppel, 42, from Wiltshire spoofed the domain of online cryptocurrency exchange site Blockchain.com to gain access to their victims’ login details and Bitcoin wallets so they could steal your funds.
An investigation by the Southwest Regional Organization Crime Unit (SWROCU) identified 55 victims from 26 different countries, including 11 from the United Kingdom.
Police imposed a restraining order on £835,000 in cash, including £551,000 in the suitcase which was voluntarily handed over by Lee, £64,000 in cryptocurrency, a Banksy print worth £60,000 and three vehicles.
Jake Lee, 38, from Charlcombe in BathJames Heppel, 42, from Staverton in Wiltshire
A confiscation order worth almost £1 million has been issued against Lee, which will be used to compensate victims.
The investigation began in 2018 after Lee was arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
Police seized £24,000 in cash, digital devices and three laminated Bitcoin wallet recovery seeds – a list of words printed or written on a piece of paper that can restore lost Bitcoin funds, but can also be used to steal funds if someone find them.
The investigation unit found a link between Lee and a cryptocurrency scam they were investigating, reported by a victim in Wiltshire who had £11,000 worth of Bitcoin stolen from his Blockchain wallet.
The £835,000 in cash that was seized from Lee and Heppel, including the £551,000 from the suitcase The £60,000 Banksy print called ‘Bomb Love’ that police seized from crypto fraudsters
Detective Sergeant Matt Brain, from SWROCU’s Regional Cyber Crime Unit, said: ‘We took over the investigation of Lee and when we analyzed his devices, we established that he was a central figure involved in a sophisticated domain spoofing fraud and worked to identify countless victims.’
Lee and Heppel pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Lee was sentenced to four years and Heppel to 15 months at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.
DS Brain said: ‘Mapping Lee and Heppel’s offenses and links to other suspects and cryptocurrency exchanges around the world was complex work, but the fact they both pleaded guilty to all charges negates the need for a trial of six weeks, shows the strength of the evidence we obtained against them.
Pamela Jain, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service’s International Serious Economic Organized Crime Directorate, said:
‘Jake Lee and James Heppel defrauded people in 26 countries, including 11 victims in the UK, by diverting Bitcoin to wallets over which they had control.
‘This was a complex and time-consuming process involving investigations with numerous victims and judicial authorities across the world.
“A substantial amount of money and assets were seized. In addition to the prison sentence, the court also ordered Jake Lee to pay almost £1 million in a confiscation order that will allow the victims to receive compensation. Confiscation proceedings against James Heppel are ongoing.
‘Compensation orders force criminals to hand over cash and available assets or face an increase in time to their prison sentence.’