Documents Show Federal Authorities In Delaware Helped British Police Take Down Cybercriminal

New asset disclosure documents revealed that U.S. Secret Service investigators in the state of Delaware helped British police in their case against a notorious cybercriminal by seizing about $217,000 dollar’s worth of bitcoin.

According to Delaware Online, the authorities managed to get a hold of bitcoin inside one of Grant West’s accounts, who police say stole personal information after hacking servers on the dark web.

West is though to have hacked the servers of at least 100 companies over the past few years.

A Cybercriminal Who Funded A Lavish Lifestyle

Authorities in the United Kingdom said West utilized phishing emails to entice people to share personal information like passwords and credit card numbers.

After securing sensitive data, the alleged cybercriminal would then sell it to vendors and store the proceeds across several cryptocurrency accounts after converting the funds into bitcoin.

West was arrested on a passenger train last year by undercover authorities. Delaware Online noted how it was the first time London’s Metropolitan Police arrested a cybercriminal.

Bitcoin Seizures

CryptoGlobe reported in the summer how police in Surrey became the first across the United Kingdom to seize and convert bitcoin related to a criminal probe.

The money came from Latvian money-launderer Seregjs Teresko, who was said to have organized crime ties.

West, who reportedly maintained a lifestyle filled with expensive cars and international travel, was later convicted of a variety of offenses.

Authorities in the United States said they linked his bitcoin stash to wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft.

Delaware Continues To Be A Money Hub

The small state of Delaware has long been a hotspot for government financial seizures because a large amount of banks have servers in the state.

The Secret Service investigators took the bitcoin from servers in the state belonging to the Poloniex exchange.

In an affidavit, Special Agent Scott McDerby noted how a Secret Service branch dedicated to Asset Forfeiture has been on the job seizing cryptocurrencies for five years.

Delaware Online, citing court documents, wrote how the bitcoin taken from West made its way into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after passing through the U.S. Secret Service. The documents did not note where the cryptocurrency is at the moment.