TechFlow reports that on September 19, renowned on-chain investigator ZachXBT published a detailed post on X exposing a major cryptocurrency theft targeting Genesis creditors. On August 19, 2024, three hackers executed a highly sophisticated social engineering attack, stealing $243 million worth of digital assets from a Genesis creditor. According to ZachXBT's investigation, the attackers first impersonated Google customer support and deceived the victim via phone call, successfully gaining access to their personal account. They then posed as Gemini exchange support staff, claiming the victim’s account had been compromised, and tricked them into resetting two-factor authentication and transferring funds from their Gemini account to attacker-controlled wallets. Finally, the hackers induced the victim to share their screen using the remote desktop software AnyDesk, allowing them to steal the private keys of the victim’s Bitcoin core wallet.
ZachXBT identified three primary suspects: Veer Chetal (alias Wiz), Malone Iam (alias Greavys), and Jeandiel Serrano (alias Box). Veer received the largest share of the stolen funds, with approximately $34.5 million still held at address 0x3c7a5f2795e73d2b94a9120a643f608cfc45c935. Malone has been living extravagantly in Los Angeles and Miami, spending between $250,000 and $500,000 per day and even gifting Hermès handbags to women. Jeandiel was responsible for impersonating Gemini customer support during the scam.
Thanks to collaborative efforts by ZachXBT, CFInvestigators, Zeroshadow, and Binance’s security team, over $9 million in funds have been successfully frozen, with more than $500,000 already returned to the victim. Notably, Malone and Jeandiel have been arrested in Miami and Los Angeles, respectively. Law enforcement expects to recover additional funds, as significant transactions were observed before and after the arrests.
