Security Specialist Sentenced to Three Years for Hacking Cryptocurrencies Worth $12 Million

On Friday, cybersecurity specialist Shakeeb Ahmed was handed a three-year prison sentence for his crime of embezzling approximately $12 million in cryptocurrency.

A statement from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York revealed the sentence. Ahmed faced charges for breaking into two digital currency exchanges and pilfering about $12 million in cryptocurrency, per the prosecuting team.

Attorneys Adam Schwartz and Bradley Bondi, representing Ahmed, did not provide an immediate response when reached out for comments.

Upon Ahmed’s arrest the previous year, he was identified as “a top-tier security engineer within a global tech firm.” His LinkedIn account indicates former employment at Amazon, although he was not employed there at the incident time, as confirmed by an Amazon representative to TechCrunch.

Although not all victim details were disclosed, it’s known that Ahmed breached Crema Finance, a Solana blockchain-based crypto platform, in early July 2022.

A few weeks subsequent, he penetrated Nirvana Finance. From these intrusions, Ahmed expropriated $9 million and $3.6 million consecutively. For Nirvana Finance, the loss was particularly devastating as it amounted to virtually the entirety of its funds, causing the company to cease operations, as detailed in the announcement.

Ahmed has admitted guilt to executing both digital heists.

After his attack on Crema, Ahmed sought to negotiate the return of the robbed assets, holding back $1.5 million as an unofficial “finder’s fee” and seeking assurance from Crema not to press charges. Crema turned down the offer, leading to Ahmed’s subsequent arrest.

This manner of arrangement, albeit unconventional in cybersecurity norms, has gained some ground in the cryptosphere, often labeled as “white hatting,” despite it involving unauthorized stealing. Ahmed’s scenario underscores a grudging acceptance within the crypto sector of such transactions as part of operative risks, though the authorities clearly disagree.

Beyond the three-year incarceration, Ahmed has also been mandated a three-year supervised release, and is required to surrender $12.4 million “along with a marked quantity of cryptocurrency and reimburse over $5 million to the Crypto Exchange and Nirvana,” as divulged in the prosecuting team’s press release.

Cybersecurity expert faces allegations of misappropriating $9M in crypto