A Canadian teenager has been sentenced for his involvement in a $37 million Bitcoin theft and the hacking of multiple X accounts. This comes after ZachXBT, an on-chain investigator, called for stricter penalties against SIM swapping and social engineering fraudsters. The suspect, Cameron Redman, was convicted and ordered to pay compensation for his role in the theft and hacking, which was uncovered by ZachXBT in a July 29 post. Court documents reveal that Redman has been sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison, followed by a three-year supervised release term for each count, to be served concurrently. He has also been ordered to pay a $400 special assessment, $248,257.07 in restitution, and a $60,000 fine. In February 2020, Redman used a SIM swap attack to gain control of crypto investor Josh Jones’s mobile number, allowing him to bypass two-factor authentication and access his wallets. He then stole 1,547 BTC and 60,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), worth approximately $37 million at the time. After the theft, Redman laundered the stolen assets through numerous small transactions, eventually funneling them through centralized exchanges in an attempt to cover his tracks. He was also linked to phishing scams and the hacking of several NFT profiles on X. According to ZachXBT, in June 2022, Redman sold access to an internal X panel on the platform SWAPD for 250 ETH, resulting in the compromise of over 10 accounts and the theft of millions through phishing scams. The investigator also revealed that the Canadian teenager initially used fake identity documents on SWAPD before submitting his real information, withdrew the sale proceeds through Tornado Cash, and then deposited the funds into a Stake account. On-chain data linked the wallet he used to the compromised X accounts. The investigation identified victims, including Beeple, DeeKay, Zeneca, Nouns DAO, and JRNY Club. ZachXBT has called for tougher rules and regulations to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. The suspect was charged by Hamilton Police in Ontario on November 17, 2021, and $5.4 million in crypto was recovered, but the remaining $31.5 million is still missing. Redman was a minor at the time of his arrest, which meant his identity was kept confidential and his photo was not released. ZachXBT has previously pointed out that this kind of secrecy only contributes to the problem and that the convicted criminal’s identity should have been revealed earlier to prevent further illegal activities. These types of cases are becoming more common, with a 1,055% increase in SIM swap incidents in the UK in 2024, according to research from Keepnet Labs. Elliptic’s State of Crypto Scams 2025 report also highlighted phishing as a popular method used by cybercriminals, such as North Korea’s Lazarus, with attackers increasingly using AI tools to automate their campaigns. ZachXBT also reported that between November and December 2024, a single hacker was responsible for stealing over $100 million in crypto through phishing attacks, highlighting the need for stricter penalties against such criminals.
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