Australian Woman Jailed for Stealing Nearly $400,000 Worth of XRP Cryptocurrency
An Australian woman named Kathryn Nguyen has been sentenced to jail for her involvement in a cryptocurrency theft amounting to almost $400,000. The 25-year-old was arrested in October 2018 for her role in the heist, making her one of the first individuals in Australia to face charges related to the theft of digital currency.
The Crypto-Heist
The theft occurred in January 2018 when Nguyen, along with an accomplice, stole 100,000 XRP tokens from the account of a 56-year-old man who shared the same last name as her. At the time of the theft, the value of XRP was at a peak of $3.84 per token, but it has since decreased to around $0.30 per token.
Nguyen took advantage of the victim’s account by changing the two-factor authentication to her own cell phone, enabling her to transfer the stolen tokens to a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange where they were exchanged for Bitcoin. To further obfuscate the origins of the stolen funds, the Bitcoin was then distributed across multiple wallets.
Legal Consequences
Following a police raid on Nguyen’s residence in Epping, Sydney, in 2019, she was charged with fraud. Last year, she pleaded guilty to the charges and today, she has been sentenced to a maximum of two years and three months in prison, with eligibility for parole in October 2021.
During the sentencing, judge Chris Craigie expressed the difficulty of the decision, noting that character references described Nguyen as generous and hardworking. However, he emphasized that her involvement in criminal activities demonstrated a distorted moral judgment.
Law Enforcement Challenges
The investigation into Nguyen’s crime was initiated after the victim reported being locked out of his cryptocurrency trading account. Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft, commander of NSW Cybercrime Squad, highlighted the low reporting rate of cyber-related crimes in Australia, emphasizing the need for increased awareness and vigilance in combating such offenses.
Nguyen’s case serves as a reminder of the risks associated with digital currencies and the importance of safeguarding personal information and assets in the evolving landscape of cybersecurity and financial technology.