US judge reverses decision to accept cryptocurrencies to pay bail

nila44

Federal judge Jacqueline Corley attended a conference to learn a little about cryptocurrencies, bitcoins , blockchain  , etc. This could help her in carrying out her duties. After all, Silicon Valley, in California, is part of its jurisdiction, one of the largest technology centers in the world, where almost all the giants in the sector are located. On August 16th, she had the first opportunity to enter this world. She accepted a $750,000 bond in bitcoins .


123RF
The judge even accepted bail payments in bitcoins, but gave up when she saw the forecast of currency devaluation.
123RF
But, this Monday (8/20), she realized how B2B Lead volatile this world is. And she changed her mind. She ordered the defendant to convert part of his cryptocurrencies, the equivalent of $200,000, into cash and pay bail if he wants to go to a rehabilitation center instead of going to jail while awaiting trial.

The intention was good because, in any case, the citizen did not have dollars to pay bail. And, after all, the country's judges have done anything to receive bail. They accept, for example, third-party properties, precious metals or anything of value.

“The idea seemed sensible, because the purpose of bail is to guarantee, at least theoretically, the defendant’s appearance in court on the scheduled dates – not to raise money,” federal prosecutor Abraham Simmons told the Silicon Valley Business Journal and Market Watch websites. , Cryptomode and Engadget , all linked to technology.

But there was a detail in the case. The judge, who could sentence the defendant to prison (up to five years), a fine (of up to US$250,000) and restitution of the loss he caused to the company he robbed, wanted to guarantee the availability of funds for this last penalty.

The defendant allegedly caused a loss valued at US$324,000 to Electronic Arts (EA), a world-renowned video game producer. He is accused of breaking into the company's servers and stealing “digital assets” and secret keys from the EA system, in addition to altering databases that gave thousands of people access to the game Fifa 18 .



He would have sold these “digital goods” and the secret keys on the Internet black market or through the Dark Web. With part of the money, he went on a tourist trip to California. He was arrested on August 8 at San Francisco International Airport while waiting for a flight to Los Angeles.