A recent court ruling has resulted in a crypto influencer being sentenced to one year in prison for his involvement in a large-scale cryptojacking operation. According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the operation cheated two major cloud computing providers out of over $3.5 million in resources. Cryptojacking refers to the unauthorized use of resources such as computing power or electricity to mine cryptocurrency.
The DOJ announced on Friday that Charles O. Parks III, also known as “CP3O”, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for his role in the scheme. Parks used fake corporate identities, including “MultiMillionaire LLC” and “CP3o LLC”, to gain increased computational privileges from the cloud providers, which he then exploited to mine Ethereum (ETH) and Monero (XMR) between January and August 2021.
Cryptojacking Scheme Exposed
Parks pleaded guilty in December to charges of money laundering and illegal transactions, which carried a potential maximum prison sentence of 50 years. According to the DOJ, Parks informed one of the cloud providers that he would use the computational resources to build an online training company focused on media, technology, and business strategy, claiming he would serve 10,000 students. However, prosecutors revealed that “in reality, there was no training company and there were no students”, and the resources were used solely for cryptojacking.
The scheme was eventually uncovered when the cloud providers began to inquire about “questionable data usage and increasingly unpaid subscription balance sheets”. Parks attempted to distract the providers, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
Illicit Gains Used to Fund Luxury Lifestyle
Prosecutors alleged that Parks used the illicitly mined cryptocurrency to purchase luxury items, including a Mercedes-Benz, jewelry, and first-class trips. He also used the funds to buy and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital assets. According to an indictment filed in April 2024, Parks created multiple accounts with a subsidiary of a cloud computing company and a personnel computer manufacturer, both based in Washington state.
Parks was ordered to forfeit $500,000 and the Mercedes-Benz as part of his sentence. He had also used his online persona to boast about his profits and offer tips on achieving a “multimillionaire mentality” in a YouTube video posted in September 2022.
A Crypto Influencer’s Downfall
Parks’ website, which is still online, advertises a subscription-based self-improvement and asset coaching program for $10 per month, with optional one-on-one coaching for $150 per month. He also offered rewards in his own crypto token. However, his reputation as a crypto influencer has been tarnished by his involvement in the cryptojacking scheme.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. stated, “In the end, he was just a fraudster whose secret to getting rich quick was lies and theft.” Parks’ case serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance in the cryptocurrency space and the need for cloud computing providers to protect themselves against cryptojacking schemes.
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