5 ms·

Wow, the feds payed him 10, then 20, then 70k during the course of their operation. I’d really like to know the full story of how this guy got to this point.

changoplatanero 5y ago
And he even said in his email that he assumed the feds would never pay as much as 100k so it had to be legit. I suppose the fbi can now recover the money and if they can’t they can just seize this guy’s property to make the government whole.
- senectus1 5y ago
  I doubt that getting the money back is very high on the feds priorities. 100k for an op isn't really that much. especially when it comes to subjects like this. now, I'm not saying it was worth it... I dont have all the details.
  - irrational 5y ago
    I’m surprised you are being downvoted. I’ve seen events at my work that cost more than $100k. It’s literally nothing to large corporations and governments.
    - MattGaiser 5y ago
      They will spend far more prosecuting him than 100K.
    - senectus1 5y ago
      it's probably more about the last line of my comment. it was too reasonable :-P
  - anonporridge 5y ago
    100k is probably significantly less than the salaries for all man hours involved in this operation.
- elwell 5y ago
  > if they can't That is a bit interesting for scenarios like this, the gov may not be able to reclaim even the unspent crypto; well it's not that different from burying cash somewhere and not divulging after being caught.
  - anonporridge 5y ago
    If this guy was dumb enough to think he could get away with selling submarine secrets, I doubt he was smart enough to secure his private keys in an unseizable way, especially if the arrest was a surprise.
    - vkou 5y ago
      After you've been arrested, your crypto is no longer unseizable, unless you never want to leave prison again. If you're ordered to turn the money over by the courts, they can hold you as long as you remain in contempt of court. Rubber-hose decryption in general has a pretty solid track record.
      - john_moscow 5y ago
        In Russia we call it thermorectal crypotoanalysis. "Thermo" refers to a soldering iron.
      - anonporridge 5y ago
        Feeling compelled to comply with a court order and voluntarily relinquish your property is still very different from being seizable without your consent. Especially with the nature of civil asset forfeiture, in which many people never recover their money or property even after proving their innocence, unseizable property has it's appeal.
        vkou 5y ago
        > Feeling compelled to comply with a court order and voluntarily relinquish your property is still very different from being seizable without your consent. The difference between theory and practice is that in theory, there isn't one. In practice, there is.
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  "he assumed the feds would never pay as much as 100k" You can't think small with these things, if he had real ambition and vision, he could be running Goldman Sacks!
- gonzo41 5y ago
  He obviously doesn't know what the military is willing to pay for a hammer!
paulpauper 5y ago
I think there will be a plea deal
- anonu 5y ago
  The money is peanuts. You think the govt cares about $100k in crypto? The salaries of the FBI agents on this and the legal machine that's about to come down hard on these guys costs millions to maintain.
  - paulpauper 5y ago
    it is more than the $. the plea deal avoids the potentially lengthy and expensive trial.
    - anonu 5y ago
      There's no need for a plea deal here because the evidence is slam dunk.. the emails .. the dead drop... The government will take their plea and still send them to jail forever. My point is, if i was the justice dept I'd be happy to go to trial.
      - sumedh 5y ago
        > if i was the justice dept I'd be happy to go to trial. or the justice dept can accept the plea deal so they can quickly move to other cases.
        lazide 5y ago
        This isn’t the type of case they are in a hurry to file in the back of a filing cabinet somewhere. This is the type of case they want to turn into a public flaying.
    - lazide 5y ago
      They’re going to hang him as high and hard as they can to make an example of him. If they could force CSPAN and CNN into the court room to watch you bet they would.
ClumsyPilot 5y ago
What if you take the money and don't give them any data? What is the crime? Great lifehack
anonu 5y ago
Should've added at least another 0 to make it worthwhile...
- ec109685 5y ago
  His goal was $100k a drop * 50 drops, so he ws planning for $5M. It's in the full indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1440946/download https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1440946/downl...

changoplatanero 5y ago

And he even said in his email that he assumed the feds would never pay as much as 100k so it had to be legit. I suppose the fbi can now recover the money and if they can’t they can just seize this guy’s property to make the government whole.

senectus1 5y ago
I doubt that getting the money back is very high on the feds priorities. 100k for an op isn't really that much. especially when it comes to subjects like this. now, I'm not saying it was worth it... I dont have all the details.
- irrational 5y ago
  I’m surprised you are being downvoted. I’ve seen events at my work that cost more than $100k. It’s literally nothing to large corporations and governments.
  - MattGaiser 5y ago
    They will spend far more prosecuting him than 100K.
  - senectus1 5y ago
    it's probably more about the last line of my comment. it was too reasonable :-P
- anonporridge 5y ago
  100k is probably significantly less than the salaries for all man hours involved in this operation.
elwell 5y ago
> if they can't That is a bit interesting for scenarios like this, the gov may not be able to reclaim even the unspent crypto; well it's not that different from burying cash somewhere and not divulging after being caught.
- anonporridge 5y ago
  If this guy was dumb enough to think he could get away with selling submarine secrets, I doubt he was smart enough to secure his private keys in an unseizable way, especially if the arrest was a surprise.
  - vkou 5y ago
    After you've been arrested, your crypto is no longer unseizable, unless you never want to leave prison again. If you're ordered to turn the money over by the courts, they can hold you as long as you remain in contempt of court. Rubber-hose decryption in general has a pretty solid track record.
    - john_moscow 5y ago
      In Russia we call it thermorectal crypotoanalysis. "Thermo" refers to a soldering iron.
    - anonporridge 5y ago
      Feeling compelled to comply with a court order and voluntarily relinquish your property is still very different from being seizable without your consent. Especially with the nature of civil asset forfeiture, in which many people never recover their money or property even after proving their innocence, unseizable property has it's appeal.
      - vkou 5y ago
        > Feeling compelled to comply with a court order and voluntarily relinquish your property is still very different from being seizable without your consent. The difference between theory and practice is that in theory, there isn't one. In practice, there is.
ClumsyPilot 5y ago
"he assumed the feds would never pay as much as 100k" You can't think small with these things, if he had real ambition and vision, he could be running Goldman Sacks!
gonzo41 5y ago
He obviously doesn't know what the military is willing to pay for a hammer!

paulpauper 5y ago

I think there will be a plea deal

anonu 5y ago
The money is peanuts. You think the govt cares about $100k in crypto? The salaries of the FBI agents on this and the legal machine that's about to come down hard on these guys costs millions to maintain.
- paulpauper 5y ago
  it is more than the $. the plea deal avoids the potentially lengthy and expensive trial.
  - anonu 5y ago
    There's no need for a plea deal here because the evidence is slam dunk.. the emails .. the dead drop... The government will take their plea and still send them to jail forever. My point is, if i was the justice dept I'd be happy to go to trial.
    - sumedh 5y ago
      > if i was the justice dept I'd be happy to go to trial. or the justice dept can accept the plea deal so they can quickly move to other cases.
      - lazide 5y ago
        This isn’t the type of case they are in a hurry to file in the back of a filing cabinet somewhere. This is the type of case they want to turn into a public flaying.
  - lazide 5y ago
    They’re going to hang him as high and hard as they can to make an example of him. If they could force CSPAN and CNN into the court room to watch you bet they would.

ClumsyPilot 5y ago

What if you take the money and don't give them any data? What is the crime? Great lifehack

anonu 5y ago

Should've added at least another 0 to make it worthwhile...

ec109685 5y ago
His goal was $100k a drop * 50 drops, so he ws planning for $5M. It's in the full indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1440946/download https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1440946/downl...