According to the Clearwater Police Department, a 27-year-old Pinellas Park man stole $575,000 in cryptocurrency from an elderly individual while installing electronics in the victim’s home.
According to an arrest affidavit, Aaron Daniel Motta of Pinellas Park faces felony charges of grand theft and offenses against internet users.
According to the report, Motta was at the victim’s residence to install a security system and had access to the victim’s computer. Motta stole a Trezor hardware wallet, which allows users to store cryptocurrency offline, and discovered the password nearby, according to authorities.
According to authorities, Motta then transferred cryptocurrencies worth $575,910.61 to several wallets that he controlled. Cryptocurrency is a sort of digital currency that is maintained on the blockchain, which is a peer-to-peer network that acts as a secure transaction record.
Motta, according to his Facebook page, is an IT manager, former cyber security engineer, and ethical hacker. Calls to a phone number mentioned on the affidavit, which is also published online for the company Motta works for, went unanswered on Saturday, according to the Facebook page.
According to the affidavit, the victim is 65 years old or older.
Motta was arrested on Friday afternoon and placed into Pinellas County Jail but was freed before 1 a.m. Saturday after posting $60,000 bail.
