Afek Zard, a 27-year-old Israeli, will spend the next eight years of his life in prison after stealing over $7 million in cryptocurrency from a friend.
Afek Zard, an Israeli resident, will serve the next eight years in prison for stealing 75,000 DASH coins from a close friend worth 22 million Shekels, or nearly $7 million. Aside from the jail time, the offender will have to pay a $1.5 million fine and $80,000 in compensation to the victim.
When dealing with cryptocurrency, be wary of your friends.
Afek Zard, 27, was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Be’er Sheva District Court for embezzling 75,000 digital coins worth $6.8 million. Surprisingly, the man’s victim was a close acquaintance.
Zard, who had prior expertise with bitcoin investments, was a frequent visitor to his friend’s home and even had his own key, according to officials. Unfortunately for the victim, the thief took advantage of their friendship and hacked into his computer, stealing the details of his digital wallet, which contained 75,000 DASH coins.
The amount of cryptocurrency was valued around $6.8 million at the time of the incident, with a single unit of DASH trading at $82.5. Following the investigation, Zard rejected all of the claims leveled against him and refused to hand them the passwords to his computer and cellphone. As a result, police investigators were unable to seize the stolen property.
Zard was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison by the prosecution because he committed a significant felony involving a new sort of currency. His lawyer, Giora Hazan, was able to get his sentence reduced to eight years by claiming:
“Even if the offense was committed on a new platform, the damage to the compliant is ‘normal and old,’ just as it would have been if the defendant had broken into the compliant’s residence and stolen tens of millions of shekels.”
Aside from serving time in prison, Zard will have to pay a $1.5 million fine and $80,000 in restitution to his “buddy.”
Over a glass of wine, I’m stealing crypto.
A similar incident occurred in Malta last month, according to CryptoPotato. The two men, however, were not at home this time, but rather in a restaurant.
