• Mark Shin of Aurora, Colorado has been charged with theft, cybercrime and money laundering for allegedly stealing roughly $9 million in crypto funds.
• Shin is believed to have taken advantage of an “unintended vulnerability” in the ICON Nation cryptocurrency network.
• Defense attorney Chris Decker argues that Shin did not commit thievery but rather saw a “golden opportunity” and chose to take advantage.
Mark Shin of Colorado Charged with Crypto Theft
A man in Aurora, Colorado has been accused of stealing roughly $9 million in crypto funds. 31-year-old Mark Shin has been charged with theft , cybercrime, and money laundering at the time of writing for allegedly taking part in a scheme back in April of 2020 through his home computer.
Shin’s Alleged Scheme
Shin is believed to have noticed an “unintended vulnerability in the revision 9 update” of the ICON Nation cryptocurrency. Instead of reporting this to ICON Foundation/Nation, court documents allege that Shin took part in a scheme that ultimately drained the network and made him an instant digital millionaire. The documents state: Shin changed the vote/select delegate function 558 times over an 11-hour period to mint unauthorized ICX. From his personal computer, Shin minted and stole from the ICON Nation approximately 13,924,045 unauthorized ICX, which was roughly the equivalent of approximately $8,988,406.00 U.S. dollars at the time of the attack.
Defense Attorney’s Take on Case
Chris Decker, a defense attorney issued a statement regarding his feelings on the case: „I love this case.“ He argued that Shin did not engage in thievery but rather saw a “golden opportunity” and chose to take advantage by utilizing code written by cryptocurrency to create his own mint or currency.
Legal Analyst’s Response
George Brachler – legal analyst and former 18th Judicial District attorney – said this case is baffling and nothing like what he’s ever seen before: „I’ve never seen a case quite like this.“ He believes that Shin’s argument will not be successful since he acted guilty by creating multiple accounts and attempting to disguise ownership of stolen currency using spinning services like Tornado Cash .
Prosecutors‘ Claims
Prosecutors are claiming that Shin used a spinning service called Tornado Cash to move all the money into other crypto wallets so as to hide it from authorities .