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Oracle employee implicated in $54 million cryptocurrency laundering scheme

EditorOliver Gray
Published 08/11/2023, 01:00
© Reuters.
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Brian Krewson, an Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) employee and party entertainer, is under scrutiny from the Justice Department for his alleged involvement in a $54 million cryptocurrency storage and laundering scheme. Convicted cocaine traffickers Christopher Castelluzzo and Luke Atwell, who are serving 21 and 19 years respectively, are said to be connected to the operation. The pair previously ran a narcotics business that reportedly sold up to $3 million in cocaine monthly.

The Justice Department alleges that the cryptocurrency was generated from drug sales on the Blue Sky market, including 30,000 ether now valued at over $54 million. Krewson, known for his Walter White impersonation from the TV show "Breaking Bad", held a senior technical support engineer position at Oracle from 2015 until this year.

Evidence suggests that Krewson had discussions with Castelluzzo and Atwell about moving the ether to Malta or the Bahamas. These discussions were revealed through prison calls and further corroborated by their continued Facebook (NASDAQ:META) friendship as of mid-2021.

In a police raid in July last year, Krewson provided the password to the crypto wallet, allowing law enforcement to transfer all funds to a DOJ wallet. Castelluzzo, on behalf of himself and Broken Wings Holdings – a company he ran with Krewson and Atwell for trading cryptocurrencies on Bitrix exchange – appealed to a Colorado court last December for the return of these funds. Despite his claim that the funds were not criminal proceeds, his appeal was denied.

The DOJ announced the seizure of these funds last week. While Krewson's attorney has yet to comment on the matter, Castelluzzo maintains that the cryptocurrency was acquired legitimately.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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