Man
Professional
- Messages
- 3,077
- Reaction score
- 614
- Points
- 113
Telecommunications giant AT&T will again stand trial for its role in the theft of $24 million in cryptocurrency from the founder of the BitAngels bitcoin investor group Michael Terpin through SIM swapping. The corresponding ruling was made by the Court of Appeals for the Central District of California.
The incident occurred in 2018, when 15-year-old hacker Ellis Pinsky, together with 21-year-old accomplice Nicholas Trulia, bribed an AT&T employee to replace Terpin's SIM card. In the future, control over the phone number allowed them to bypass the two-factor authentication that protected one of the crypto investor's wallets.
Terpin initially filed 16 charges against the mobile operator, but only three of them were considered and subsequently dismissed.
As a result of the review of the case, the judicial panel recognized the legitimacy of such a decision on two counts - on fraud by AT&T and Terpin's claim for punitive damages in the amount of $ 216 million.
According to Piers O'Donnell, Terpin's lead lawyer, his client will seek at least $45 million from the mobile operator, including $24 million in damages, $14 million in interest and attorneys' fees.
Immediately after the incident, Pinsky reimbursed $2 million of the stolen amount. In October 2022, as part of a civil lawsuit, he agreed to return the remaining $22 million without admitting guilt and being prosecuted. The hacker will also testify in favor of Terpin in the case against AT&T.
On-chain detective ZachXBT supported the new lawsuit, highlighting the responsibility of telecommunications companies in SIM swapping cases. According to the statistics he cited, from April to August 2023, 54 cases of this type of attack led to the theft of more than $13.3 million.
Recall that in 2019, Terpin filed a lawsuit against Pinsky's accomplice Nicholas Trulia for $ 75.8 million and won the case.
• Source: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/09/30/23-55375.pdf
• Source: https://nypost.com/2022/10/20/ellis-pinsky-teams-with-alleged-victim-michael-terpin-to-take-on-att/
The incident occurred in 2018, when 15-year-old hacker Ellis Pinsky, together with 21-year-old accomplice Nicholas Trulia, bribed an AT&T employee to replace Terpin's SIM card. In the future, control over the phone number allowed them to bypass the two-factor authentication that protected one of the crypto investor's wallets.
Terpin initially filed 16 charges against the mobile operator, but only three of them were considered and subsequently dismissed.
As a result of the review of the case, the judicial panel recognized the legitimacy of such a decision on two counts - on fraud by AT&T and Terpin's claim for punitive damages in the amount of $ 216 million.
According to Piers O'Donnell, Terpin's lead lawyer, his client will seek at least $45 million from the mobile operator, including $24 million in damages, $14 million in interest and attorneys' fees.
Immediately after the incident, Pinsky reimbursed $2 million of the stolen amount. In October 2022, as part of a civil lawsuit, he agreed to return the remaining $22 million without admitting guilt and being prosecuted. The hacker will also testify in favor of Terpin in the case against AT&T.
On-chain detective ZachXBT supported the new lawsuit, highlighting the responsibility of telecommunications companies in SIM swapping cases. According to the statistics he cited, from April to August 2023, 54 cases of this type of attack led to the theft of more than $13.3 million.
Recall that in 2019, Terpin filed a lawsuit against Pinsky's accomplice Nicholas Trulia for $ 75.8 million and won the case.
• Source: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/09/30/23-55375.pdf
• Source: https://nypost.com/2022/10/20/ellis-pinsky-teams-with-alleged-victim-michael-terpin-to-take-on-att/
