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Man extradited from Ukraine accused of stealing millions of dollars in cryptocurrency
The EOS cryptocurrency logo appears on the screen of a mobile phone photographed for an illustrative photo. Krakow, Poland, May 12, 2021. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – An Uzbek man was extradited from Ukraine and arraigned Wednesday in Buffalo on charges he allegedly stole millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from a local resident, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
It is alleged that Nikita Andreevich Sklyuev, 37, also known as Valeriy Dorojkin, created a malicious iPhone app that pretended to be a crypto wallet, but was actually designed to steal users’ data and drain their funds.
The app, called EOSIO Wallet Explorer, allegedly gave Sklyuev access to a piece of data known as a user’s “private key.” With that information in hand, Sklyuev then had access to users’ funds and could lock them out of their accounts, officials said.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said a Western New York resident fell victim to the scheme in September 2018, and EOS cryptocurrency then valued at about $11.8 million was stolen from his account. Sklyuev allegedly changed the private key to the victim’s wallet before transferring the funds to several other online wallets he controlled in February 2019.
Sklyuev was charged with wire fraud and fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Justice Department’s Bureau of International Affairs worked with Romanian and Ukrainian authorities to secure Sklyuev’s arrest and extradition late Thursday, U.S. Attorney Trini Ross said.
Sklyuev was arraigned and is being held pending a detention hearing on July 3.
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Nick Veronica is originally from Buffalo and joined the News 4 team as Digital Executive Producer in 2021. He previously worked at NBC Sports and The Buffalo News. You can follow Nick on Facebook, Twitter AND Discussions. Check out his other works Here.