According to 7News Sydney, Katherine Nguyen is the first Australian to be found guilty of cryptocurrency-related fraud. Nguyen reportedly stole 100,000 XRP.
The incident occurred in 2018. Nguyen, who was twenty-four years old, hacked the email of an elderly manwho had the same last name as her. Nguyen had access to the account for two days.
It is not yet known where the XRP were stored, however, two days were enough for Nguyen to steal all the elderly man's assets.
Police had been investigating the case for 10 months, as Nguyen had left behind some traces that led to Chinese exchange.
Cryptocurrency-related scams are a common occurrence these days. This is a good thing because there is more movement to strengthen the security of digital currencies.
As Nguyen left the courthouse, 7News asked her: “Did you think you were going to get away with it because it wasn’t real money?”
Last year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that this type of theft was the first in Australia. A police said: “It is a very significant crime and it is the first time in Australia that we have seen a person arrested for electronic theft, which allows the theft of cryptocurrency.”
Police have not released much information about the incident. For example, they have not said whether Mr. Nguyen will be compensated for the loss of his funds. The only thing certain is that the court will sentence Katherine Nguyen in October. Most likely, she will receive a prison.
