Crypto Influencer Behind Bars: The $3.5M Cryptojacking Scandal Exposed
Another day, another crypto scandal—this time with a side of jail time. A high-profile influencer just got slapped with cuffs after orchestrating a $3.5 million cryptojacking scheme. Who said crime doesn’t pay? (Well, until it does—with prison.)
How It Went Down
Forget mining rigs—this guy hijacked unsuspecting victims’ computing power to line his own digital pockets. The scheme? Slick. The fallout? Brutal. Authorities finally caught up, proving even crypto’s wild west has a sheriff.
The Irony
Promoting decentralization while centralizing ill-gotten gains—classic. The crypto community’s got a new cautionary tale, and Wall Street’s got fresh ammo for its ‘told-you-so’ arsenal. Stay skeptical out there.
What is cryptojacking?
Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of another party’s computing resources, such as servers or cloud infrastructure, to mine cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said that between January and August 2021, Parks created fake companies and accounts to trick cloud providers into granting him high-level computing power, which he then exploited to mine Ethereum, Litecoin and Monero.
Parks used email addresses linked to shell entities such as "MultiMillionaire LLC" and "CP3O LLC" to obtain and maintain accounts with cloud computing firms.
He misled providers with claims that he was building a large-scale online education platform serving thousands of students, when in reality he was running mining scripts. When confronted about unusual data usage and unpaid bills, he continued to deflect inquiries.
The illegally mined cryptocurrency was then laundered through exchanges, NFT marketplaces and traditional banks. Parks spent the converted proceeds on luxury purchases, including jewelry, hotels and travel, while cultivating an online persona as a crypto influencer.
His now defunct X, Facebook and Instagram accounts described him as “Professional. Media. Technology. Strategy. Consultant.” as he boasted about his profits.
In a 2022 YouTube video, he bragged that he had written a "really nice crypto script" in ten days that allowed him to avoid working for the rest of the year.
