The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has seized over $260,000 worth of NFTs and cryptocurrencies following a tip-off by pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT.
as per seizure document published On February 4, the FBI seized several assets, including 86.5678 ETH ($116,433) and two NFTs: Bored Ape Yacht Club #9658 ($95,495) and Doodle #3114 ($9,361) from Brunswick, Maine resident Chase Senecal. , The agency also seized an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch valued at $41,000.
ZachXBT, a self-described crypto sleuth, made the seizure possible after conducting a thorough investigation of Chase Senecal, also known as HZ Online. “After months and months of tracking my group, it is good to know that one of the main perpetrators (Chase Senecal) of the NFT/Crypto phishing attacks has been identified,” he Said In a tweet on 1 September.
Crypto Detective traced several NFT hack-related transactions and revealed that the account used to pay for the watch was linked to the hack. The FBI appears to have taken note of their findings and seized the items weeks later on October 24, 2022.
According to the summary of the investigation, Cam (SIM swapper) sold Twitter panel access to Senecal in June last year, who used it to gain access to Twitter accounts and defraud NFT holders. Senecal used the stolen money to buy an AP watch which led to his arrest. The HZ paid-for address has been linked to multiple Discord server attacks.
The FBI notice provided little additional information about the incident other than the fact that all possessions were seized on October 24. Furthermore, it is uncertain as to the exact extent of the judicial cases against Senecal.
Notably, the FBI has not officially credited ZachXBT for investigating the hack, but the crypto investigator said in a recent Twitter thread that his investigation led to the asset arrest. They said:
“I am very pleased to share the crypto, BAYC 9658, AP Watch, and Doodle 3114 seized by the FBI from the phishing scammer known as Horror (HZ) aka Chase Senecal as a result of my thread. “
ZachXBT previously claimed that Senecal was part of a multimillion-dollar crypto scheme that compromised over 600 Discord servers and over 12 Twitter accounts. Some of the accounts affected by Senecal’s hack are NFT project JRNY Club and animator DeeKay Kwon.
As mentioned, the FBI was also involved. The arrest of Anatoly LegkodimovThe Russian founder of Hong Kong-registered crypto exchange Bitzlato, who has been accused of processing $700 million in illegal funds.
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