The FBI seized more than $260,000 in assets, including NFTs and cryptocurrency, according to a forfeiture document released by the agency on Feb. 4.
That document says the FBI seized various assets from Chase Senecal, a resident of Brunswick, Maine. The agency seized 86.5678 ETH ($116,433) and two NFTs: Bored Ape Yacht Club #9658 ($95,495) and Doodle #3114 ($9,361).
In addition to the approximately $221,000 in seized crypto assets, the FBI also seized one non-crypto asset: an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch valued at $41,000.
The watch is not a crypto asset, but its purchase led directly to the other seizures. Self-described crypto detective ZachXBT, responsible for launching the investigation, noted in a blog post last September that Senecal, aka Horror (HZ), likely paid for the watch with cryptocurrency. The purchase of the luxury watch “was directly financed with money stolen from the hacked Twitter accounts,” he wrote in a tweet.
ZachXBT tracked down a series of blockchain transactions and discovered that the account used to pay for the watch was linked to various hacks. The FBI apparently took note of his findings rather quickly, as it seized the items weeks later, on October 24, 2022.
ZachXBT posted an update on the case yesterday, February 3rd. He wrote that he was “very happy” to say that the FBI had seized the assets thanks to his original thread.
Previous statements by ZachXBT indicated that Senecal was involved in a multi-million dollar scheme that compromised more than 600 Discord servers and more than 12 Twitter accounts. On February 3, he highlighted several accounts affected by the hack, including those belonging to the NFT JRNY Club project and entertainer DeeKay Kwon.
The FBI is also involved in several unrelated crypto cases. In January alone, it made progress on matters involving North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group, crypto exchange Bitzlato, and Mango Market exploiter Avraham Eisenberg.
This post FBI Seizes $260k of Assets Including ETH, Bored Ape After ZachXBT Tip
was published first on https://cryptoslate.com/fbi-seizes-260k-of-assets-including-eth-bored-ape-following-zachxbt-tip/
