Early Scattered Spider member pleads guilty to cybercrime spree
Early Scattered Spider member Ahmed Elbadawy pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and identity theft, with prosecutors seeking $17.6 million in forfeiture.
Ahmed Hossam Eldin Elbadawy, a 24-year-old from Texas and core member of Scattered Spider within The Com, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft for a 2021-2023 extortion spree; the plea was made public this week via a forfeiture order. He and co-conspirators including Noah Michael Urban and Tyler Robert Buchanan used social engineering to obtain credentials and steal data from at least 29 victims, with single thefts of virtual currency reaching nearly $6.35 million. Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of Bitcoin valued over $14.19 million, Ethereum over $3.4 million, cash, vehicles, and luxury goods.
- Elbadawy pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft; plea unsealed this week
- Crew linked to at least 12 victim companies across entertainment, telecom, IT, and crypto sectors
- Single thefts included $6.35 million (2021), $571,000 (2022), and nearly $1.7 million (2022) in crypto
- Co-conspirator Noah Urban sentenced to 10 years; Tyler Buchanan pleaded guilty in April
- The Com now spans thousands of members split into Hacker, IRL, and Extortion subsets
- Threat actors
- Scattered SpiderThe Com
- Organizations
- FBICyberScoop
- Countries
- United StatesUnited Kingdom
From the original article
3 min read at cyberscoop.com
Ahmed Elbadawy pocketed massive proceeds from his crimes. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of about $17. 6 million in virtual currency, luxury vehicles, and a vast collection of jewelry and designer bags.
By Matt Kapko · cyberscoop.com
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