Nuruhussein Hussein has been accused of posing as an Uber driver and stealing $300,000 worth of cryptocurrency from two passengers near the W Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hussein was arrested on December 11 by Scottsdale police and US Secret Service agents. He is now facing charges of theft, fraud, and money laundering.
According to Fox10 Phoenix's report, the first incident happened in March and the second in October. In both cases, Hussein allegedly approached passengers waiting for their Uber, called them by name, and convinced them he was their driver.
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Once the passengers got into his car, Hussein claimed he needed to borrow their phones, stating his phone was “broken”. He also offered to fix issues with the Uber app when it showed the driver had not arrived yet.
One of the victims became suspicious during the encounter and demanded their phone back. According to prosecutors, Hussein responded with a threat, warning them to “chill or something bad would happen”.
While using the victims' phones, Hussein accessed their Coinbase
Prosecutors have banned Hussein from using the internet or leaving the country. However, they argued that there was a risk he could destroy evidence or flee to Ethiopia, where he reportedly travels frequently.
Additionally, the court successfully requested a $200,000 cash bond and electronic monitoring if Hussein manages to post bail.
While this crypto scam targeted unsuspecting Uber passengers, there was recently another high-stakes theft, where $2.5 million in crypto assets were stolen from a Ledger wallet. How did hackers pull it off? Read the full story.
