$243M Gemini Heist: Hackers Arrested After Major Crypto Theft

A sophisticated social engineering attack that  led to the theft of $243 million in cryptocurrency from a Genesis creditor, has had multiple arrests made in connection to the heist. 

The incident occurred on August 19, 2024, when hackers, identified as Malone Iam (alias Greavys), Veer Chetal (Wiz), and Jeandiel Serrano (Box), deceived the victim into believing their account was compromised. 

Posing as support agents from Google and Gemini, they manipulated the victim into resetting their two-factor authentication (2FA) and transferring funds to a compromised wallet.

The attackers gained access to 74.22 BTC from the victim's Gemini account and an additional 4,064 BTC from a Bitcoin wallet, totaling nearly $238 million.

 They employed tactics such as screen sharing via AnyDesk to extract private keys. Following the heist, the stolen funds were dispersed across 15 exchanges using various cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Monero.

Law enforcement has since arrested Greavys in Los Angeles and Wiz in Miami, freezing over $9 million of the stolen assets. Investigators are working to recover additional funds linked to the crime.