Thief Who Held $3.4 Billion in Bitcoin Deserves Prison, US Says
- Prosecutors urge less prison time for crypto theft by Zhong
- Defense lawyers told judge Zhong should get no prison time
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Federal prosecutors urged prison time for a Georgia man who stole more than 50,000 Bitcoin valued at $3.35 billion when authorities seized it in November 2021, which at the time was the second-largest financial seizure in US history.
The seized Bitcoin is now worth $1.48 billion, but James Zhong, 32, should do time behind bars for his heist in 2012 from the Silk Road darkweb site, prosecutors told a federal judge Friday, noting he deserves leniency for helping authorities recover the stolen crypto. Zhong pleaded guilty in November and wants the judge to spare him a prison term.