A crypto influencer has been sentenced to just over a year in prison for what US prosecutors called a large-scale cryptojacking operation that defrauded two major cloud computing providers.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday that a Brooklyn federal court sentenced Charles O. Parks III, who also went by βCP3O,β to one year and one day in prison for the scheme that defrauded the computing providers of more than $3.5 million in resources.
Parks used fake corporate identities such as βMultiMillionaire LLCβ and βCP3O LLCβ to trick two unnamed cloud providers into granting him elevated computing privileges, which he exploited to mine nearly $1 million worth of Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR) between January and August 2021, prosecutors said.
Cryptojacking is when resources such as computing power or electricity are used without permission to mine crypto. Parks pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December after also facing charges of money laundering and unlawful transactions that carried a potential 50-year maximum prison sentence.
βCharles Parks manipulated technology, stole millions in computer resources, and illegally mined cryptocurrency β and todayβs sentencing holds him fully accountable for his deceitful actions,β said New York City Police Department commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.
Parks lied to misuse computing resources: DOJ
According to the DOJ, Parks told one provider he would use the computing resources to build an online training firm focused on media, tech and business strategy.
He told the company that he aimed to serve 10,000 students β but prosecutors said βin reality, there was no training company, and there were no students,β and the resources were used to mine crypto.
Parks deflected when the providers started inquiring about βquestionable data usage and mounting unpaid subscription balances,β the DOJ added.
Crypto laundered to buy luxury items
According to prosecutors, Parks laundered the crypto mined through the providers through crypto exchanges, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, online payment processors and banks, converting them into cash to fund luxury purchases, including a Mercedes-Benz, jewelry, and first-class travel.Β
An indictment from April 2024 said Parkes created multiple accounts with a subsidiary of βcloud computing and consumer electronic device headquartered in Seattle, Washington,β and a firm that makes βpersonal computers and related services headquartered in Redmond, Washington.β
He was ordered to forfeit $500,000 and the Mercedes-Benz, with a court to decide restitution at a later date.
Parks used crypto gains to build a reputation
Prosecutors said Parks had boasted about his profits online in an attempt to earn credibility as a crypto influencer, sharing tips for achieving what he called a βMultiMillionaire Mentalityβ in a September 2022 YouTube video.
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His website, which is still online, promoted a subscription-based self-improvement and wealth coaching program for $10 a month, with optional one-on-one consulting at $150 per month and rewards paid in his crypto token.
But US Attorney Nocella Jr said that Parks wasnβt the innovator and thought leader he had branded himself to be.
βIn the end he was merely a fraudster whose secret to getting rich quick was lying and stealing.β
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