By Gemma Parry For Mailonline
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An Oxford University student who stole more than £2millon worth of cryptocurrency has been jailed for four and a half years.
Wybo Wiersma set up a bogus website for people investing in online currency lota, and stole millions from more than 100 victims in the process.
All the victims of the 40-year-old Dutchman logged onto the same site to generate passwords with what they thought was a random string of 81 characters including capital letters and the number 9.
But all the passwords had been predetermined and allowed Wiersma to transfer their ‘tokens’ to cryptocurrency trading accounts. Some victims lost their inheritances and businesses as a result.
Wybo Wiersma (pictured) set up a bogus website for people investing in online currency lota, and stole millions from more than 100 victims in the process
The Oxford University student stole more than £2millon worth of cryptocurrency from over 100 victims
Wiersma was arrested in Oxford on January 23 2019 and regional crime squad officers seized a number of devices.
But when he was released on bail, Wiersma fled to the Netherlands. He was extradited back to the UK on April 7 2021 and appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court the following day.
He admitted the theft of £2,156,000 at Oxford Crown Court following a five-year investigation by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU).
Judge Michael Gledhill KC slammed Wiersma for his ‘greed and dishonesty’ as he handed down a four-and-a-half year sentence behind bars.
He also deprived Wiersma of all his digital devices which had been seized by the court and made a confiscation order of £2,156,000.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rob Bryant, of SEROCU, said: ‘This was a particularly complex investigation involving more than 100 victims worldwide.
‘Wiersma deprived people of their money which they had invested in cryptocurrency, moving it through a web of trading accounts and causing some to lose businesses and life savings.
‘On 19 January 2018 and in the days that followed there were numerous reports of the theft of Iota tokens from the owners.
Wiersma was arrested in Oxford on January 23 2019 and regional crime squad officers seized a number of devices.
‘For some people this had a devastating effect and meant losing significant amounts of money – their savings and businesses.
‘SEROCU took on this highly complex and intricate investigation from police in Germany – Hesse State Criminal Police – Cybercrime Investigations team, which I would like to thank for working in collaboration with us. I would also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service and Europol for their assistance.
‘Wiersma has now admitted his involvement and will have time to reflect upon his actions in prison.
‘Meanwhile SEROCU will use all available legislation to ensure that as much of the money seized from his cryptocurrency wallets is returned to its rightful owners.’
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group
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