A New York federal court has sentenced Charles O. Parks III to one year and one day in prison after he admitted to running a cryptojacking scheme that cost two cloud service companies more than $3.5 million.
According to the Department of Justice, Parks set up fake companies named “MultiMillionaire LLC” and “CP3O LLC”.
Using these false identities, he gained special access to computing resources, which he then used to mine almost $1 million worth of Ethereum
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He told one of the companies that the computers would be used to run an online training program, and claimed he planned to teach 10,000 students.
When the companies began to question unusual data activity and unpaid bills, Parks avoided giving straight answers. He also laundered the mined cryptocurrency through exchanges, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, online payment services, and banks.
Authorities said the funds were converted into cash to pay for luxury items such as jewelry, first-class flights, and a Mercedes-Benz.
An indictment filed in April 2024 showed that Parks had created multiple accounts with two major technology companies. One company is based in Seattle, providing cloud computing and devices, while another, in Redmond, is known for personal computers and related services.
Parks pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December 2024. He had also faced charges of money laundering and illegal financial transactions, which could have carried a sentence of up to 50 years.
In addition to prison time, he must hand over $500,000 and the Mercedes, with restitution to the companies still to be decided.
On August 13, Zero Edge, a crypto casino startup, was shut down, and its former leader now faces civil and criminal cases over how the company’s funding was spent. How did the case unfold? Read the full story.
