A younger Scot is dealing with extradition to America and up 20 years in jail if convicted of a £7million cryptocurrency fraud.
Robert Barr, 24, is charged with scamming the digital money from a high US Bitcoin dealer whereas he was dwelling together with his mum in Ayrshire after an FBI manhunt.
US prosecutors declare the pc whizzkid stole the massive sum from Boston-based cryptocurrency supplier Reggie Middleton and transferred it to a different account.
They declare he labored with two others in an elaborate con referred to as “sim swapping”, the place fraudsters dupe cell phone companies into handing over particulars of prospects’ SIM playing cards to allow them to then hack into cryptocurrency accounts or wallets.
Barr is needed in Georgia on the rip-off, a part of eight prices that embody wire fraud, cash laundering and id theft.
The Sunday Mail can reveal Barr – who was arrested by Scottish police, remanded in custody after which freed on bail – final week misplaced a authorized bid at Edinburgh Sheriff Courtroom to have the case thrown out.
He seems to be set to face an extradition listening to later this yr.
Whereas Barr’s mum and stepdad declare they know nothing about his alleged crimes, one former buddy revealed how the baby-faced Xbox fan has been a part of a teenage group who referred to as themselves “The Hackers”.
He mentioned: “We used to play at hackers once we had been youthful, going into folks’s social media accounts, however Robert would all the time take it too far.
“We had been younger, round 15-16ish, and, for me, it was enjoyable. I preferred issues with fancy usernames so hacked Skype, Snapchats, stuff like that. You can take the accounts, typically inactive and unused, so no loss to anybody, and promote them to different individuals who wished that username.
“I don’t assume Robert totally understood the severity of his actions and noticed it as simply stuff taking place on his laptop.”
The alleged cryptocurrency frauds involving Barr are mentioned to have taken place in Could and July 2017 and particulars of the US prices, obtained by the Sunday Mail, stretch to 13 pages.
Barr and one other man are charged with devising a scheme to make use of the sufferer’s cell quantity to entry his e-mail and different accounts. From there, they're accused of fixing his passwords and finding his cryptocurrency addresses.
Barr and the gang are then alleged to have transferred the foreign money to their very own cryptocurrency accounts. The soccer fan and one other accused, American Anthony Frances Faulks, are alleged to have used the identical rip-off to dupe a second unnamed sufferer to hack her cellphone in Could 2017.
It’s claimed they then used the stolen quantity to entry e-mail accounts and alter passwords. From there, they're mentioned to have transferred cryptocurrency value greater than £485,000 to accounts of their very own.
Barr and others are then alleged to have divided the proceeds amongst themselves to “conceal their id” and the “unlawful switch of funds”.
Barr was arrested in February final yr after a request to Scottish police from America.
He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Courtroom and was remanded in custody earlier than extradition proceedings had been formally began in April final yr.
The next month he appeared by video hyperlink from jail and the case was continued to October when he was given bail to the house of his mum Sallyann Gilchrist in Kilbirnie.
Final month, his defence crew failed in a bid on the similar courtroom to have the arrest warrant thrown out.
No additional date has been set for the extradition case nevertheless it’s understood it may not be till November. The case has already been investigated by a grand jury in Georgia in 2020, when the costs towards him had been drawn up.
A co-accused of Barr referred to as Corey De Rose, a 22-year-old Londoner who has Asperger’s, received his extradition battle in January. He's additionally alleged to have hacked into the cryptocurrency account of Middleton in 2017. A courtroom in London refused to ship him to the US due to his well being points.
The Sunday Mail tried to talk to Barr on the household residence in Kilbirnie, the place mum Sallyann declined to remark.
His stepdad Sean Gilchrist claimed they weren't conscious of any extradition proceedings towards Robert.
He mentioned: “He solely stayed right here for 2 months. He doesn’t keep right here any extra. I don’t know the place he's.”
We additionally tried different addresses for Barr in Renfrewshire however he was unable to be reached for remark.
The Crown Workplace in Edinburgh, which is dealing with the extradition on behalf of the US authorities, mentioned: “These proceedings are ongoing.”
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