FBI Seizes $260000 in NFTs and Cryptocurrencies

Following a tip that was provided by the pseudonymous blockchain detective ZachXBT, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to seize more than $260,000 worth of NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

According to a forfeiture document published by the agency on February 4, the FBI has taken multiple assets from Chase Senecal, a resident of Brunswick, Maine. These assets include 86.5678 ETH, which is valued at 116,433, as well as two NFTs, which are valued at $95,495 and $9,361, respectively. The agency also took a $41,000 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Watch into custody.

After performing an exhaustive examination of Chase Senecal, also known as HZ online, a crypto sleuth by the name of ZachXBT, who calls himself a crypto sleuth, made the seizure feasible. “After months and months of tracking their group, it’s nice to know one of the main perpetrators (Chase Senecal) for NFT/crypto phishing attacks has been identified,” they said in a tweet on September 1. “After months and months of tracking their group, it’s nice to know one of the main perpetrators (Chase Senecal) for NFT/crypto phishing attacks

The crypto sleuth followed the transactions that were related to the several NFT hacks, which led to the discovery that the account that was used to pay for the watch was connected to the hacks. It would appear that the FBI took note of his discoveries because they were confiscated a few weeks later, on October 24, 2022.

A summary of the inquiry states that in June of last year, Cam, a SIM swapper, sold Twitter panel access to Senecal, who utilized it to get access to Twitter accounts and swindle NFT holders. After then, Senecal made the purchase of the AP watch with the stolen money, which ultimately led to his capture. The address HZ used to pay for the watch has been linked to multiple attacks on the Discord service.

The notification issued by the FBI revealed very little new information concerning the incident, with the exception of the fact that all of the estates were taken into custody on October 24. Also, it’s not clear how many lawsuits are currently being brought against Senecal or how big they are.

It is vital to note that the FBI has not publicly recognized ZachXBT for his investigation of the hacks; however, the crypto sleuth stated in a recent Twitter thread that his investigation was responsible for leading to the asset arrest. He said: “I am very happy to share the FBI seized crypto, BAYC 9658, AP watch, and Doodle 3114 from the phishing scammer known as Horror (HZ) aka Chase Senecal as a result of my thread.”

ZachXBT has previously asserted that Senecal participated in a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scheme that has compromised more than 600 Discord servers and more than 12 Twitter accounts. ZachXBT’s claims have since been proven to be false. The NFT project JRNY Club and the animator DeeKay Kwon are both responsible for some of the accounts that have been compromised due to Senecal’s hacking.

According to the reports, the FBI had a role in the arrest of Anatoly Legkodymov, the Russian founder of the Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato. Legkodymov is accused of handling $700 million in illegal payments during his business.

Cryptocurrencies FBI Seizes $260000 NFTs NFTs and Cryptocurrencies