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€2m bitcoin hacker no longer facing 108-year sentence after US withdraws request

Summary

The High Court heard that the United States has formally withdrawn its extradition request for Conor Freeman, a 21-year-old from Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Freeman, who appeared by video-link from Mountjoy Prison, is no longer facing a maximum potential sentence of 108 years in the US. The Attorney General's counsel informed Mr Justice Paul Burns that the US diplomatic note confirmed the withdrawal because Freeman had already been convicted and sentenced in Ireland for the same offences, with no appeals lodged. Freeman had previously pleaded guilty in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing the proceeds of crime, specifically 142.75682712 Bitcoin. He also admitted to stealing cryptocurrency from Darran Marble, Seth Sharpiro, and Micheal Templeman between May 15 and May 18, 2018, and to three counts of dishonestly operating a computer to make a gain. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Freeman to three years' imprisonment, reduced to two years and 11 months to account for time already served. The judge noted the crime involved guile and deception but acknowledged almost perfect mitigation, including Freeman's guilty plea, cooperation, youth, and lack of prior convictions. US authorities had alleged Freeman participated in attacks by a group called 'The Community' using SIM swapping techniques to steal over $2 million in cryptocurrency.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: €2m bitcoin hacker no longer facing 108-year sentence after US withdraws request. Charges or matters: stealing $100,000 in cryptocurrency from Darran Marble on May 15, 2018, stealing cryptocurrencies with an approximate value of $1,921,335, from Seth Sharpiro on May 16, 2018, and stealing cryptocurrencies with an approximate value of $167,622.22 from Micheal Templeman on May 18, 2018; three counts of dishonestly operating a computer to make a gain on dates between May 15 and May 18, 2018. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• 20 May Incident
• May 15, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 16, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 18, 2018 Other
• May 15 Other
• May 2019 Incident
• February 2018 Other
• May 2018 Incident
• April 18, 2019 Other
• 2021-01-18 Publication

Why: Ms Ní Chúlacháin said that because Freeman had been convicted and sentenced in the interim and that no appeal had been filed on either his or the DPP's behalf, the US no longer sought his surrender. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Fraud Stage Sentence Theft

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Read the original CNI report