Cryptojacker Sentenced to 1 Year for $3.5M Cloud Computing Fraud Scheme

Generated by AI AgentCoin World
Sunday, Aug 17, 2025 10:06 pm ET1min read
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Aime RobotAime Summary

- Charles Parks III was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day for defrauding cloud providers of $3.5M in computing resources used for crypto mining.

- He created fake LLCs and falsely claimed to build a training firm, while secretly diverting resources to mine $1M in ETH, LTC, and XMR.

- Parks laundered proceeds via crypto exchanges and NFT platforms, buying luxury items before pleading guilty to wire fraud in December 2024.

- The court ordered $500K forfeiture and Mercedes-Benz seizure, with restitution pending, as officials condemned his "lies and theft" over claimed innovation.

A federal court in Brooklyn sentenced Charles O. Parks III to one year and one day in prison for a large-scale cryptojacking operation that defrauded two unnamed cloud computing providers of over $3.5 million in resources. Parks, who operated under the pseudonym “CP3O,” admitted to using fake corporate identities such as “MultiMillionaire LLC” and “CP3O LLC” to deceive the cloud providers into granting him elevated computing privileges. These resources were then used to mine nearly $1 million worth of Ether (ETH),

Litecoin
(LTC), and Monero (XMR) between January and August 2021 [1].

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Parks falsely claimed to one provider that he would use the computing resources to build an online training firm focused on media, tech, and business strategy for 10,000 students. However, prosecutors confirmed that there was no such training company, and no students were involved. Instead, the allocated resources were redirected entirely to cryptocurrency mining [1].

As the scheme progressed, Parks allegedly avoided answering questions from the providers about unusual data usage and growing subscription balances. He laundered the mined cryptocurrencies through various platforms, including crypto exchanges, an NFT marketplace, online payment processors, and banks. The illicit funds were converted into cash and used to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, jewelry, and first-class travel [1].

Parks pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December 2024, following charges that could have led to a 50-year maximum prison sentence. As part of the sentencing, he was ordered to forfeit $500,000 and the Mercedes-Benz. The court will determine the amount of restitution at a later date [1].

In a September 2022 YouTube video, Parks promoted a “MultiMillionaire Mentality,” offering financial tips and selling a subscription-based self-improvement and wealth coaching program for $10 per month. His website also offered one-on-one consulting for $150 per month, with rewards in a custom crypto token [1].

New York City Police Department commissioner Jessica S. Tisch commented that Parks manipulated technology to steal millions in computing resources for cryptocurrency mining. U.S. Attorney Nocella Jr. described him as a fraudster who built his wealth through lies and theft, rather than the innovation he claimed to embody [1].

Source: [1] Cointelegraph (https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryptojacker-gets-1-year-for-3-million-fraud-schme)