A Zimbabwean cryptocurrency trader is accused of stealing $457 000 worth of cryptoassets from a gullible user whom the investor helped register cryptocurrency wallets.
According to prosecutors, Zimbabwean Lloyd Chiyangwa stole funds from a customer using his Sid phrases and passwords. Chiyangwa got them when he helped a man set up accounts at Trust Wallet, Metamask, Exodus, Cosmostation and Wemix.
Chiyangwa’s client bought digital assets in July 2020 from an unnamed British company. At the time of purchase of cryptoassets, the victim was living in India. Returning to Zimbabwe in 2021, the man enlisted Chiyangwe’s help in setting up cryptocurrency wallets.
The crypto-dealer is believed to have committed the theft between October 2021 and March 2023. The client discovered the loss of funds only in May, when he tried to use the Trust Wallet. Prosecutors say Chiyangwa withdrew funds from his client’s wallet in seven transactions. The largest transaction amount was $261 500, and the minimum was $5,155.. The perpetrator used the stolen funds to buy two iPhones, a laptop and a Mercedes Benz car.
Lloyd Chiyanwa faces theft and money laundering charges. The cryptotrader is now in custody while a court in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare considers a bail application. The prosecutor’s office is against it because it believes there is a high probability of escape.
A Washington state resident recently stole $35 million from his employer and invested in crypto-assets, but the investment proved unprofitable because of the market crash;