‘Fluffypony,’ an ex-Monero developer, has been in jail for two weeks for stealing from the Cookie Company.
Two weeks ago, according to court documents filed with a Tennessee district court, former Monero creator Ricardo Spagni was arrested on fraud-related allegations.
When Spagni worked as an employee for a South African company known as Cape Cookies, the charges stemmed from invoices that were filed more than ten years ago.
It is alleged that Spagni obtained money by creating fictitious invoices from other businesses (some of which did not exist), submitting them to Cape Cookies’ finance department, and then fleeing with the money—nearly $100,000 in all.
The trial of Spagni was taking place in South Africa until April when he decided to flee. He was subsequently apprehended in Nashville, Tennessee, and has been held in a federal jail in the United States since July 20, pending extradition to his native country.
In addition to his work on Monero, Spagni is well-known on Twitter under the handle “Fluffypony.” Monero is a type of cryptocurrency meant to conceal transactions on the blockchain.
For privacy purists, as well as for criminals, this is a popular choice. Bitcoin is becoming less popular among ransomware groups, who are increasingly turning to Monero as a cryptocurrency of choice. Yat is a platform that allows you to purchase URLs that contain emojis, which Spagni has been working on recently.
Spagni is also a well-known crypto influencer; at one point, he was a member of a group known as the “Magical Crypto Friends,” which also included Litecoin founder Charlie Lee (a.k.a. “Chikun,” Blockstream CSO Samson Mow (a.k.a. “Excellion,” and a pseudonymous Bitcoin enthusiast known only as “WhalePanda.”
