A Minnesota man has entered a guilty plea for conducting a "cryptojacking" scam that defrauded his former company of thousands of dollars, according to a recent announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. Joshua Paul Armbrust, a 44-year-old St. Paul resident, abused his technical expertise to gain unauthorized access to Digital River's Amazon Web Services account.
Court filings reveal that Armbrust, who previously worked for the Minnetonka-based e-commerce firm, initiated his scheme sometime between December 2020 and May 2021. He managed to illicitly use the company’s computing resources to secretly mine for Ethereum, a popular cryptocurrency. The operation led to Digital River incurring over $45,000 in unexpected costs. "Cryptojacking is simply high-tech thievery," Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick stated. She emphasized that federal justice will continue to relentlessly pursue such sophisticated cybercriminals.
The details of the case, which was investigated by the FBI, demonstrated how Armbrust directed the mined Ethereum to a digital wallet and then transferred the funds to his accounts on the cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase. He eventually liquidated the cryptocurrency, amassing more than $7,000, which he then deposited into his Wells Fargo account. The guilty plea took place in front of U.S. District Court Judge Jerry W. Blackwell, with a sentencing hearing currently pending.
Armbrust pleaded guilty to one count of computer fraud on Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is slated to prosecute the case, ensuring that those who attempt to misuse their access for fraudulent gain will face the full weight of the law.
