Following the ZachXBT investigation, the FBI confiscates from the scammer $100k in NFTs and 86.5 ETH
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has taken possession of two non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from a phishing scammer that are valued more than $100,000 and 86.5 ETH.
Chase Senecal, also known as Horror (HZ) online, is the alleged con artist who was first identified through a thorough investigation conducted and published back in September by independent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT.
Seneca’s property, which included a $41,000 Audemars Piguet (AP) Royal Oak Watch, was “seized for federal forfeiture for violation of federal law,” according to the FBI’s formal statement published on February 3.
Apart from stating that all of the items were taken on October 24, the FBI’s notification of the incident contained little further.
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The exact NFTs in question are Bored Ape Yacht Club #9658 and Doodle #3114, and their respective market values at the time of seizure were $9,361 and $95,495.
At the time of seizure, the 86.5 ETH were worth $116,433, but as of this writing, they are worth $144,000.
At this point, it is unclear how extensive the legal actions brought against Senecal have been. Federal forfeiture, on the other hand, allows the government to “remove—without compensation for the individual—ownership of property engaged in a crime,” according to the FBI’s law enforcement bulletin.
According to the FBI, “it may happen in a civil proceeding, such a lawsuit against the thing, or after the conviction of a person in a criminal prosecution.
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ZachXBT highlighted through Twitter on February 3 that the property confiscation did “come as a result” of his inquiry, even if the FBI has not publicly credited him.
2/ HZ was in charge of the Discord server attacks against @AnataNFT @Lacoste and @Zeneca @nounsdao @ezu xyz @deekaymotion @JRNYclub using a Twitter panel. I’ve put the original thread that began it all below.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt), 3/2/2023.
For damaging so many individuals in this area, ZachXBT said, “I look forward to possibly seeing other phishing criminals face a similar fate in the future.”
People in the neighbourhood have joked that the FBI will change its profile photo to Ape #9658 as a result of the discovery of a Bored Ape NFT.
Notably, ZachXBT was able to identify Senecal’s identity and on-chain activities during the probe thanks in large part to the showy AP watch.
ZachXBT explained in a Medium article from September 2 that he reached out to the individual who sold that particular AP watch to Senecal after witnessing Horroz (HZ) brag about the new watch on social media. He did this by asking “about a few mutual acquaintances who sell watches.”
The addresses @deekaymotion, @Zeneca 33, @ezu xyz, and @JRNYclub that HZ used to send the watch seller $47.5k were “DIRECTLY paid by various addresses used to swindle people with hijacked Twitter accounts,” ZachXBT said.
ZachXBT’s research has already been essential in assisting governmental authorities, and this time is no exception. ZachXBT was recognised in October by France’s national cyber unit for its assistance in apprehending and prosecuting a group of alleged fraudsters suspected of obtaining NFTs valued at $2.5 million through phishing schemes.