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The article is worth a read. The perpetrator was apparently doing a lot more than just insider trading on the dark web: > As far back as 2016, the account with

The article is worth a read. The perpetrator was apparently doing a lot more than just insider trading on the dark web: > As far back as 2016, the account with that moniker bought names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers on the underground marketplaces that traffic in illicit online goods. He took that personal info to open banking accounts in the names of unwitting strangers, and used those accounts to make trades based on insider information he gleaned from others The claimed amount of Bitcoin he earned from these activities is low. Certainly low in the context of what a talented engineer should be earning. Either he’s hiding his actual profits, or he was simply doing this for the thrill of doing criminal things on the dark web. Strange case.

paulpauper 6y ago
it's space-x, not google. the salaries are probably not that great, especially after taking into account living expenses . $20k in net profit is a nice even for an engineer.
- dehrmann 6y ago
  I assume SpaceX is like the game industry. People are overworked and underpaid because their work is their passion.
  - yaacov 6y ago
    I used to work at an aerospace startup with a lot of ex-SpaceX people. They worked 60 hrs/week and felt like they were on vacation.
- blobbers 6y ago
  It really isn't. SpaceX is in LA, and engineers that can get jobs there can easily work at google. $20K in net profit is a drop in the bucket.
Traster 6y ago
I'm not actually that surprised. There are lots of people who have decent paying jobs, but want more, and it's not as easy as saying "I earn $100k working at X, I can easily earn an extra 30k doing it freelance on the weekend". It is extraordinarily difficult to actually leverage your skills in a way that earns immediate profits - especially since your skills are often specializing in a niche that your company probably dominates. 27k for a stupid stock prediction scam seems like a decent pay off if you think your technical expertise means you have an extremely low chance of getting caught. Maybe you would be more willing to do this if you worked for a guy who repeatedly flouts SEC rules an brags about it....

paulpauper 6y ago

it's space-x, not google. the salaries are probably not that great, especially after taking into account living expenses . $20k in net profit is a nice even for an engineer.

dehrmann 6y ago
I assume SpaceX is like the game industry. People are overworked and underpaid because their work is their passion.
- yaacov 6y ago
  I used to work at an aerospace startup with a lot of ex-SpaceX people. They worked 60 hrs/week and felt like they were on vacation.
blobbers 6y ago
It really isn't. SpaceX is in LA, and engineers that can get jobs there can easily work at google. $20K in net profit is a drop in the bucket.

Traster 6y ago

I'm not actually that surprised. There are lots of people who have decent paying jobs, but want more, and it's not as easy as saying "I earn $100k working at X, I can easily earn an extra 30k doing it freelance on the weekend". It is extraordinarily difficult to actually leverage your skills in a way that earns immediate profits - especially since your skills are often specializing in a niche that your company probably dominates. 27k for a stupid stock prediction scam seems like a decent pay off if you think your technical expertise means you have an extremely low chance of getting caught. Maybe you would be more willing to do this if you worked for a guy who repeatedly flouts SEC rules an brags about it....