A man named Charles O. Parks III, also known as "CP3O", has been charged by US authorities with fraud and money laundering after embezzling $3.5 million from two cloud service providers to operate a massive cryptojacking operation.
Illegal cryptojacking operation
Parks was accused of using resources from two cloud service providers to run an illegal cryptojacking operation, generating over $970,000 in cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR). Cryptojacking is the practice of using resources such as computing power or electricity without authorization to mine crypto.
Fraud and money laundering
Parks was charged with fraud and money laundering by U.S. authorities. He was arrested in Nebraska on April 13 and charged with fax fraud, money laundering and engaging in illegal monetary transactions. He faces up to 50 years' cumulative imprisonment for these charges.
Trickery and detour of resources
From January to August 2021, Parks used fictitious names, corporate affiliations and email addresses, including MultiMillionaire LLC and CP3O LLC, to create accounts with cloud service providers. He then "misled and hijacked" the services by obtaining additional privileges and benefits, including high levels of cloud services and delayed billing acommodations.
Conclusion
Charles O. Parks III, aka "CP3O", has been charged with fraud and money laundering by U.S. authorities for embezzling $3.5 million from two cloud service providers as part of a massive cryptojacking operation. Parks faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison for these combined charges.
