A crypto influencer was sentenced to a year in prison for what US prosecutors called a large-scale cryptojacking operation that defrauded two major cloud computing providers. Cryptojacking is when resources such as computing power or electricity are used without permission to mine crypto.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday that a Brooklyn federal court sentenced Charles O. Parks III, who also went by “CP3O,” to one year and one day in prison for a scheme that defrauded the computing providers of more than $3.5 million in resources.
Parks used fake corporate identities, including “MultiMillionaire LLC” and “CP3O LLC,” to trick two unidentified cloud providers into granting him elevated computing privileges, which he exploited to mine almost $1 million worth of Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR) between January and August 2021, prosecutors said.
Parks pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December after also facing charges of money laundering and unlawful transactions that carried a potential 50-year maximum prison sentence.
“Charles Parks manipulated technology, stole millions in computer resources, and illegally mined cryptocurrency — and today’s sentencing holds him fully accountable for his deceitful actions,” said New York City Police Department commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.
Parks lied to misuse computing resources: DOJ
According to the DOJ, Parks told one provider he would use the computing resources to build an online training firm focused on media, tech and business strategy.
He told the company that he aimed to serve 10,000 students — but prosecutors said “in reality, there was no training company, and there were no students,” and the resources were used to mine crypto.
Parks deflected when the providers started inquiring about “questionable data usage and mounting unpaid subscription balances,” the DOJ added.
Crypto laundered to buy luxury items
According to prosecutors, Parks laundered the crypto mined through the providers through crypto exchanges, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, online payment processors and banks, converting them into cash to fund luxury purchases, including a Mercedes-Benz, jewelry and first-class travel.
An indictment from April 2024 said Parks created multiple accounts with a subsidiary of “cloud computing and consumer electronic devices headquartered in Seattle, Washington,” and a firm that makes “personal computers and related services headquartered in Redmond, Washington.”
He was ordered to forfeit $500,000 and the Mercedes-Benz, with a court to decide restitution at a later date.
Parks used crypto gains to build a reputation
Prosecutors said Parks had boasted about his profits online in an attempt to earn credibility as a crypto influencer, sharing tips for achieving what he called a “MultiMillionaire Mentality” in a September 2022 YouTube video.
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His website, which is still online, promoted a subscription-based self-improvement and wealth coaching program for $10 a month, with optional one-on-one consulting at $150 per month and rewards paid in his crypto token.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr said that Parks wasn’t the innovator and thought leader he had branded himself to be.
“In the end he was merely a fraudster whose secret to getting rich quick was lying and stealing.”
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