Stripe Bitcoin Fraudster Sentenced to 51 Months, Ordered to Pay $811K in Restitution

Odaily reports: Timothy Wadsworth has been sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $810,965.19 in restitution after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the sentencing on October 23. Wadsworth is from Rochester, New York. His fraud scheme involved processing unauthorized credit card payments through Stripe, then transferring part of the funds to Coinbase to purchase Bitcoin and send it to co-conspirators.

Between March 10 and May 15, 2020, Wadsworth used account information provided by co-conspirators to attempt to process 310 payments through Stripe totaling approximately $1.6736 million, of which 116 succeeded, amounting to about $730,700. The funds were moved through HSBC and Evolve Federal Credit Union accounts under his control, with some subsequently used to purchase Bitcoin.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of $810,956.19 in wire fraud proceeds. From March 2020 to September 2021, the actual and intended losses caused by the related fraud scheme totaled approximately $2.06 million, and also included disaster loans, Paycheck Protection Program loans, unemployment benefits, and other fraud proceeds targeting victims. (Bitcoin.com News)