- British hacker Elliott Gunton has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud
- Gunton admitted to scamming Coinbase users out of more than $900,000 in 2018 and 2019
- The hacker was previously jailed for the 2015 TalkTalk data breach and has been indicted by US authorities
A British hacker has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his part in a cryptocurrency fraud that saw users scammed out of more than $900,000. Elliott Gunton, a 24-year-old from Norwich, admitted offences dating back to 2018 and 2019 when he was aged 17 and 18. Gunton was part of a gang that directed Coinbase customers to a fake site and stole their login data, although he had previously been jailed for his part in the TalkTalk data breach in 2015.
TalkTalk Hack Brought Noteriety
Gunton’s criminal activities began at the age of 16 when he hacked the telecommunications firm TalkTalk, stealing the personal data of its customers, an offense that brought him significant attention, although he received a minor penalty due to his age. This only gave him an appetite for hacking, however, and in 2019, he was involved in hacking high-profile Instagram accounts and defrauding users on the cryptocurrency exchange EtherDelta.
This led to a 20-month prison sentence and a court order to repay £407,359 ($510,000. He was also given a community order restricting his internet use for three and a half years. However, the Etherdelta hack led to a 2023 indictment in the United States where, alongside an associate, Anthony Nashatka, he was charged with cryptocurrency fraud involving at least $800,000.
The charges, filed in San Francisco, included wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, carrying potential sentences of up to 20 years.
Coinbase Hack Earns Jailtime
Gunton’s imprisonment stems from crimes committed around the same time as the Etherdelta hacks; Gunton and his associates accessed Coinbase accounts by deceiving telecom companies with fabricated stories to divert phone calls and leading users to fake Coinbase sites, losing victims hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In sentencing Gunton, Judge Alice Robinson emphasized the significant planning and technical expertise involved in his crimes, stating that his primary goal was financial gain, as well as the “thrill” of hacking. She called Gunton’s work, “highly sophisticated offending that involved significant planning and technical expertise.”
Gunton’s parents were also implicated in his actions; in October 2019 they helped him transfer some of his ill-gotten gains out of a “misguided sense of loyalty,” earning suspended sentences for themselves.
