Orr man charged in ‘crypto theft’ scheme – Duluth News Tribune

MINNEAPOLIS. A northern Minnesota man has been charged with an illegal “crypto theft” scheme that cost his former employer dearly.

Court documents allege that in February 2020, Joshua Paul Armbrust, 44, of Orr, quit his job at Digital River, a global e-commerce and payment processing company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

After his departure, from December 2020 to May 2021, Armbrust allegedly participated in a crypto theft scheme using accounts belonging to his former employer.

Cryptojacking is a form of cybercrime where an unauthorized party uses someone else’s computing resources to mine cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ether, by accessing the victim’s hardware. Such unauthorized use can reduce system performance and increase energy consumption, resulting in significantly higher operating costs.

Armbrust is accused of remotely accessing an Amazon Web Services account multiple times without authorization and using Amazon Web Services computers to mine more than $45,000 worth of ether for his former employer. The mined ethereum was then allegedly funneled into a digital wallet and later transferred to two coinbase accounts registered solely in Armbrust’s name.

Armbrust reportedly liquidated over $7,000 worth of mined Ethereum and transferred the proceeds to his bank account.

The indictment charges Armbrust with one count of computer fraud. Armbrust made his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Friday.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI. Assistant US Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is prosecuting the case.

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