Altcoins News

Story: Former Engineer Gets Three Years’ Probation for Illegally Mining Ethereum on Employer’s…

By Sakamoto Nashi

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Mining Ethereum Using Employer’s Servers. Court documents revealed that Armbrust, who resigned from Digital River in February 2020,…

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Defense: “Desperation and Distress” Behind the Crime. Defense attorney William J. Mauzy said that Armbrust’s actions occurred “during a time of extreme…

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Company Impact and Broader Fallout. Digital River reported significant financial losses from the unauthorized mining activity,…

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The Broader Issue: Cryptojacking on the Rise. The Department of Justice referred to Armbrust’s actions as a form of “cryptojacking” — a type of…

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Crypto Crime Trends Continue in 2025. The sentencing comes amid growing scrutiny of crypto-related cybercrimes.

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Final Verdict. Joshua Armbrust’s sentence of three years’ probation reflects a judicial balance between…

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A former engineer at e-commerce firm Digital River has been sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to illegally mining cryptocurrency using his former…

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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, Joshua Paul Armbrust, 45, pled guilty to one count of computer fraud earlier this year. U.S.

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Court documents revealed that Armbrust, who resigned from Digital River in February 2020, continued accessing the company’s cloud infrastructure between December 2020 and May 2021.

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“Armbrust remotely accessed the company’s Amazon Web Services account on multiple occasions without authorization and utilized AWS computers to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency,” the…

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The unauthorized mining operation incurred $45,270 in AWS costs, while Armbrust personally gained about $5,800 worth of ETH, which he later converted for his own use.

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Defense attorney William J. Mauzy said that Armbrust’s actions occurred “during a time of extreme financial need and considerable emotional distress.

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Mauzy emphasized that his client was not a malicious hacker, describing him instead as someone “acting out of desperation and despair.

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Despite the defense’s plea for leniency, prosecutors maintained that the engineer’s actions represented a deliberate and repeated misuse of company resources for personal gain,…

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Digital River reported significant financial losses from the unauthorized mining activity, including inflated AWS costs and operational disruptions.

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