Beach mansion Benz and Bitcoin worth 45m seized from League of Legends hacker Shane Stephen Duffy 7NEWS

pLocal newsppLuxury assets worth more than 45 million have been forfeited after being linked to a previously convicted Queensland hackerppThe haul including a beachfront mansion a 2019 black MercedesBenz sedan and nearly 25 Bitcoin was seized in April following a yearslong investigation into stolen cryptocurrency and cyber hackingppThe AFPled Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce CACT secured the forfeiture under proceeds of crime laws arguing the assets were not in line with any identifiable legitimate incomeppKnow the news with the 7NEWS app Download today ppThe assets were linked to Shane Stephen Duffy a 32yearold man from QueenslandppHe had been previously convicted of hacking Riot Games the USbased gaming company behind the hit video game League of LegendsppThe CACT investigation began in 2018 after AUSTRAC was tipped off by authorities in Luxembourg about suspicious Bitcoin transactionsppInvestigators suspect Duffy stole 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange in 2013 now worth about 150 millionppWhile no criminal charges were laid in relation to the alleged theft the CACT was able to restrain the suspected proceeds of crime under federal laws even without a related prosecutionppAuthorities secured restraining orders over the assets in 2019 and they were officially forfeited in AprilppThe seized waterfront home purchased in 2018 for 11 million and held in Duffys mothers name is now estimated to be worth about 2 millionppMoney from the eventual sale will go into a special fund that supports crime prevention and law enforcement initiativesppAFP Commander Jason Kennedy said stripping criminals of their profits was a key strategy in disrupting cybercrime networksppThe Proceeds of Crime Act provides law enforcement agencies with unique powers to restrain and forfeit instruments and proceeds of crime Kennedy saidppCriminals are driven by greed at the expense of honest Australians and businesses who are losing their hardearned money to cyber criminalsppThe profits derived from criminal activities are also often used to fund further criminal acts which is why the AFP works closely with our partners in the CACT to target the proceeds of crime and ensure they are reinvested in the communityppCourt documents show Duffy made more than 32000 in 2013 by selling access to inactive League of Legends accountsppHe also hacked the Twitter account of Riot Games president Marc Merrill to promote his operation and allegedly teamed up with another hacker to disconnect players during matchesppDuffy sent threatening emails to the company which reported financial losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollarsppHe pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court in 2016 and was sentenced to twoandahalf years in jail to be served on immediate paroleppHis lawyer told the court the selftaught hacker had autism and had a difficult childhoodpp5 min readpp0 min readppStream free onpp2 min readpp1 min readpp1 min readpp1 min readpp2 min readpp2 min readpp3 min readpp2 min readpp2 min readpp1 min readpp1 min readpp1 min readpp2 min readpp2 min readpp3 min readpp2 min readppStay informed with the free 7NEWS app Available on iOS Androidp