Jordan Dave Persad, a 20-year-old from Orlando, Florida, has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for his involvement in a SIM-swapping cryptocurrency fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa handed down the sentence after Persad pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Computer Fraud. He was also ordered to pay $945,833 in restitution.
The fraud involved Persad and his accomplices hacking into the email accounts of unsuspecting victims, then hijacking their cell phone numbers to gain unauthorized access to their cryptocurrency wallets, a scheme known as SIM swapping. The criminals siphoned up to $1 million in digital assets from several victims, with one individual from Arizona losing approximately $30,000. Persad received around $475,000 of the stolen funds.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted an investigation, including searching Persad’s Orlando home, leading to the recovery of a portion of the stolen funds. Persad’s jail sentence will commence immediately, followed by three years of supervised release.
Cryptocurrency fraud remains a concern in the digital asset ecosystem, with law enforcement agencies actively pursuing those responsible for such crimes. In recent incidents, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India arrested an individual in connection with a cryptocurrency fraud, recovering approximately $930,000 in cryptocurrencies, and Navi Mumbai police uncovered a $3.92 million crypto fraud following an investigation.
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