Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

Student Charged in Elaborate Digital Money Theft Scheme

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Massachusetts college student who was named his high school’s valedictorian for his savvy tech skills hacked into unsuspecting investors’ personal cellphones, email and social media accounts to steal at least $2 million in digital currency like Bitcoin, according to documents provided by California prosecutors Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Massachusetts college student who was named his high school’s valedictorian for his savvy tech skills hacked into unsuspecting investors’ personal cellphones, email and social media accounts to steal at least $2 million in digital currency like Bitcoin, according to documents provided by California prosecutors Wednesday.

Joel Ortiz was taken into custody July 12 at Los Angeles International Airport ahead of a flight to Boston, according to prosecutors. The 20-year-old faces more than two dozen charges including grand theft, identity theft and computer hacking, court documents show. He’s held on $1 million bail.

The Santa Clara County, California, public defender’s office, which is representing Ortiz, declined comment. A number listed for his home in Boston was disconnected.

The elaborate scheme involved taking over victims’ phones, allowing him to reset passwords and access online accounts containing electronic assets in the form of Bitcoin, Coinbase, Bittrex and Binance, the criminal complaint said.

In one case Ortiz allegedly walked into an AT&T store and impersonated a victim in order to get a new SIM card, which gave him control of the victim’s phone. He obtained access to the victim’s “financial and personal identifying information, tax returns, private passwords” and siphoned $10,000 from a cryptocurrency account, according to police report.

In several instances Ortiz allegedly impersonated victims over text messages and convinced friends and family members to “loan” him digital funds, court documents said.

At one point Ortiz allegedly stole $10,000 from a California resident, and then tried to get more, calling the victim’s wife and sending a text to the victim’s daughter that said “TELL YOUR DAD TO GIVE US BITCOIN,” the documents said.

Court documents identify more than 20 victims who live in California, and prosecutors say they know of additional victims outside of the state.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Ortiz enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Boston and studies information technology, said school spokesman DeWayne Lehman.

Ortiz was the 2016 valedictorian of Another Course to College, a small public college preparatory school in Boston, and was honored alongside other top students across the city at a luncheon that year with Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh and other officials at a downtown hotel.

At his school, Ortiz was the lead robot software programmer on its robotics team, taught other students the basics of software coding and “led efforts to teach computer science,” according to a Boston Public Schools’ press release touting the students’ accomplishments.

The school system said Ortiz “loves science and technology,” is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational Chinese.

Boston Public Schools spokesman Daniel O’Brien declined to comment.

Written By

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join this event as we dive into threat hunting tools and frameworks, and explore value of threat intelligence data in the defender’s security stack.

Register

Learn how integrating BAS and Automated Penetration Testing empowers security teams to quickly identify and validate threats, enabling prompt response and remediation.

Register

People on the Move

PAM provider Keeper Security has appointed Shane Barney as its Chief Information Security Officer.

SpecterOps has appointed Tim Bender as CFO, Pat Sheridan as CRO, and Bryce Hein as CMO.

CISA has officially announced the appointment of Madhu Gottumukkala as its new deputy director.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.