According to CryptoPotato, U.S. prosecutors have filed charges against a Nebraska man who is accused of orchestrating a $3.5 million cryptocurrency mining scam involving two cloud service providers, one in Seattle and the other in Redmond, Washington.
Prosecutors said the cryptocurrency mining scam generated nearly $1 million worth of cryptocurrency. Defendant Charles O. Parks III, also known as "CP3O," was charged with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly orchestrating a massive illegal "cryptocurrency mining" operation.
The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office said Parks defrauded two cloud computing providers of $3.5 million and used company resources without authorization to mine about $970,000 worth of cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, litecoin and monero.
Prosecutors allege that Parks used the ill-gotten gains to purchase luxury Mercedes-Benz cars, jewelry, first-class hotels and travel expenses. Notably, Parks was arrested on Friday, April 13, and could face up to 50 years in prison.