After a hacker attack Investigators come to extorted pipeline millions

Status: 08.06.2021 02:12 a.m.

It has been a month since the largest gasoline pipeline in the United States was hacked. The operator paid millions to the extortionists. Now the investigators report a success. After the hacker attack on the largest gasoline pipeline in the United States, investigators recovered most of a ransom payment in the digital currency Bitcoin. The US Department of Justice announced that 63.7 Bitcoin, currently valued at around 2.3 million US dollars, had been seized. The FBI was able to identify a digital wallet that hackers allegedly used to collect a payment from the company concerned, said the agency’s deputy director Paul Abbate.

Hacker from Russia suspected behind the act

The company Colonial Pipeline announced in early May that it had been the victim of a hacker attack. As a result, the pipeline, through which about 45 percent of all fuel consumed on the US east coast runs, was temporarily completely shut down. There were petrol shortages in parts of the country. The capital Washington was particularly hard hit, where at times 88 percent of the gas stations ran out of fuel. “It was an attack on one of our most important national infrastructures,” said Lisa Monaco from the US Department of Justice. The US government suspects hackers from the DarkSide group from Russia behind the crime. Both US authorities and IT security experts strongly advise companies against paying ransom so as not to incentivize cyber criminals to blackmail them. But the pipeline operator paid, as company boss Joseph Blount admitted in the “Wall Street Journal” at the end of May. He authorized a payment of $ 4.4 million. Blount explained the controversial decision by saying that the company was unsure about the extent of the system damage caused. According to the US Department of Justice, Colonial Pipeline had quickly notified the FBI that DarkSide had broken into the computer network and the company had paid the requested ransom of 75 Bitcoin.

Colonial boss praises investigators

In so-called ransomware attacks, data on computers is encrypted – and the attackers usually demand a ransom for the release. Cases in which companies paid were also known before. But it is extremely rare to get the money back. Colonial chief Blount praised the work of the FBI investigators in a statement. He also said the private sector needs to take cyber threats seriously and invest to better defend against them. “Ransomware attacks have increased in scope and sophistication over the past year, targeting our critical infrastructure, businesses of all kinds, entire cities and even law enforcement agencies,” said Monaco from the Justice Department. “Ransomware and digital extortion pose a threat to national and economic security in the United States.” Just a few weeks after the attack on the gasoline pipeline, the world’s largest meat company JBS was hit by a massive cyber attack. Large parts of the production in North America and Australia were paralyzed.

This hacker organization has received ransom from many victims. This shows that data ransom attacks have become a lucrative business for cybercriminals. Bitcoin is increasingly preferred by criminal organizations Earlier this month, Colonial Pipeline suffered a severe attack that forced the company to shut down nearly all of its fuel system supplying the southeastern states of the United States. The FBI confirmed the crime was DarkSide, a cybercrime organization believed to be located in Eastern Europe. Last week, it was reported that Colonial had agreed to pay $ 5 million to DarkSide (in bitcoin) for the data recovery password. Recently, the CEO of the company confirmed this information. DarkSide operates like a business. This group develops malicious code to crack and steal the target’s data, then trains partners, the partners continue to train the hackers. When hackers use this malicious code to carry out successful missions, DarkSide will receive a percentage of those successful attacks. In March 2021, when it announced a new software that can crack data faster than before, DarkSide even released a press release and invited reporters to interview. Hackers often demand ransom in virtual currency. London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has identified a bitcoin wallet that DarkSide uses to receive ransoms from victims. On May 14, London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said it had identified a bitcoin wallet used by DarkSide to collect ransoms from victims. That same day, Intel 471 security researchers said DarkSide closed after losing access to its servers and when the organization’s virtual currency wallets were empty. According to Elliptic, DarkSide and other affiliates of this organization have collected at least $90 million in bitcoin ransoms, and they receive funds through 47 different digital wallets. “To our knowledge, this analysis includes all payments to DarkSide,” said Tom Robinson, Elliptic co-founder and chief scientist. However, there may be other undetected transactions, so this $90 million figure should be considered the lowest limit.” Also according to Elliptic’s research, DarkSide’s bitcoin wallet was holding $5.3 million in cryptocurrency before it was all withdrawn last week. There are some rumors that these bitcoins have been seized by the US government. Of the $90 million ransom, $15.5 million went to the developers of DarkSide and $74.7 million to affiliates. Much of that is being sent to cryptocurrency exchanges and thereby converted into fiat. Bitcoin is increasingly preferred by criminal organizations as crypto traders do not reveal their identities. However, because the digital ledger that underpins bitcoin is public, researchers can keep track of where these funds are going.

Accordingly, on the group’s website, DarkSide confirmed that it never intended to interrupt the US fuel supply when attacking the network of the Colonial Pipeline company, headquartered in Georgia, USA. The group also said that it will carefully examine its goals in the future, while emphasizing that the group is not affiliated with any governments when the cyber attack takes place because the group is always acting alone. DarkSide wrote on the website: “We are a non-political organization. We are not tied to a government. Our goal is to make money, not to put society in a difficult situation like it is today. in”. “From today, we will carefully examine each company that our partners want to attack to avoid future consequences,” the DarkSide team stressed. The partners the group refers to are “affiliates” of the group, DarkSide said. This group of hackers acts as a company that specializes in providing “hacking services” and is not directly involved in cyber attacks on companies or governments. The team will develop malware for the cyber attacks and negotiate the ransom with the victim, at the request of their partner. One source believes that DarkSide will receive 20-30% of the ransom for its services.

Accordingly, on the group’s website, DarkSide confirmed that it never intended to interrupt the US fuel supply when attacking the network of the Colonial Pipeline company, headquartered in Georgia, USA. The group also said that it will carefully examine its goals in the future, while emphasizing that the group is not affiliated with any governments when the cyber attack takes place because the group is always acting alone. DarkSide wrote on the website: “We are a non-political organization. We are not tied to a government. Our goal is to make money, not to put society in a difficult situation like it is today. in”. “From today, we will carefully examine each company that our partners want to attack to avoid future consequences,” the DarkSide team stressed. The partners the group refers to are “affiliates” of the group, DarkSide said. This group of hackers acts as a company that specializes in providing “hacking services” and is not directly involved in cyber attacks on companies or governments. The team will develop malware for the cyber attacks and negotiate the ransom with the victim, at the request of their partner. One source believes that DarkSide will receive 20-30% of the ransom for its services.

“We were at the door and wanted to go out, but the police blocked the door. Therefore, no one can go to pharmacy, ”said this person. “In a panic, we fell into each other. I thought I would be trampled to death. “I saw the dead right next to me,” he recalls. “I feel like I’m going to die” A man named David said to him Ynet that the stomping happened when people came to see the fire. “Suddenly a wave of people came. We were swept away. Some people were thrown into the sky, others were crushed on the ground, ”he described. “There was a baby trying to hold onto my leg for life. We waited for our rescue within 15-20 minutes amidst this insane crowd. It was terrible, ”he recalls. Aid workers tried to remove the injured from the scene. Photo: Reuters. “Time seems endless, around us are paralyzed dead,” another witness said Ynet . He was dragged out of the crowd by the police to avoid suffocating. “Some people were on me. I was on someone who couldn’t breathe anymore. Surrounded with screams, I could see the children below me. At that time, I just thought of not wanting my children to die. orphan, “another witness shared with Israeli media. A 24-year-old witness named Dvir recounts that a bunch of people have been cornered. The first row collapsed under the pressure of the crowd, then the second row, where he was standing. “I felt like I was going to die,” he said. The disaster caused rescuers to struggle to disperse the crowd and rescue victims from the scene. “We are holding about 30 children and cannot reach their parents,” said a relief worker Channel 12 . “I’ve never seen anything like this. We are not sure what happened, but the consequences are unimaginable, ”he said. “We think there is a warning about a suspicious package of bombs,” a pilgrim named Yizhak told. Channel 12 . Meanwhile, follow New York Times, It seems that the trampling happened when some people slipped over the stone steps leading into a narrow, steep, metal floor. Ynet describes this as a “waterfall stream”. A witness named Chaim Vertheimer said the ramp was slippery due to water, including fruit juice being spilled onto the floor. “Everyone stopped, but many people continued to come. I remember hundreds of people exclaiming: I can’t breathe, ”she said Ynet. The festival turns into a tragedy From the night of April 29, about 100,000 radical Orthodox Jews gathered in Mount Meron, northern Israel to hold a traditional religious festival. Around 1 am on April 30 (local time), disaster happened. Thousands of people stepped on each other, killing 44 people and injuring hundreds. There is currently no official conclusion on the cause of the case. Extreme orthodox Jews celebrate the Lag b’Omer festival on the 18th day of the month of Iyar on the Jewish calendar. Pilgrims set fire to fire and dance around the tomb of a second-century rabbi to commemorate the clergy’s death. This year, the festival is still held, although Israeli health officials warn of the danger of this event becoming a reservoir of Covid-19 infection. Bodies of the victims were removed from the scene. Photo: Times of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a terrible catastrophe”. He came to the scene to directly direct the rescue work. The leader also declared 1/5 as a national mourning day for victims of the disaster. Some of the pilgrims present at the scene questioned and chanted slogans against him, according Times of Israel . The area around the scene is divided into several small areas for crowd control. The disaster has raised many questions about weakness, even negligence in planning. The recorded videos show police trying to block people who want to escape from the scene. They may not be aware of the severity of the situation and wish the chaotic crowd did not spread to other areas. Some images also show a locked door in the emergency exit. Eli Levy, spokesman for Israeli police, said investigations were underway, but it was too early to blame or indictment of negligence. He also said that many of the pilgrims refused to leave despite the calls to evacuate. For the survivors, they were unable to understand what happened. “Nobody imagined it could happen. The glee turned into mourning. The bright light turned into a deep night,” the witness named Yitzhak told him. Channel 12. Deadly trampling at Israel’s largest religious festival At least 38 people were killed, 103 were injured in the trampling at Israel’s largest religious festival. Tens of thousands of people joined the event, despite the warnings.

Seemapuri cremation site blazed as cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus increased dramatically in New Delhi, India. Photo: Indian Photo Agency According to The Guardian (UK), the COVID-19 “tsunami” that swept through India is causing the number of cases and deaths in this country to increase exponentially. Cremators across the capital New Delhi are struggling to process the increasing number of bodies brought in. Many families of victims of COVID-19 deaths have to wait up to 20 hours to cremate each body because the crematoriums are full. In New Delhi, photos taken on April 27 show smoke rising from dozens of crematoriums in a parking lot that has been turned into a temporary cremation site. Elsewhere, workers had to build temporary crematoriums on vacant land outside crematoria. In addition, parks and many other empty spaces were also utilized. Workers build a temporary crematorium in a park on the grounds of a crematorium in New Delhi Photo: Getty Images “People are dying, dying out,” said Jitender Singh Shanty, who coordinates more than 100 cremations a day at a site east of the city. If more bodies were received, we would cremate the streets. There are no more vacancies here. We never thought we would see such horrible scenes ”. Worker building temporary crematorium in New Delhi Photo: Getty Images Previously, the BBC (UK) also reported that Indian officials had requested to cut trees in the park for firewood to cremate COVID-19 victims. The staff at the cremation site also had to work harder than usual. They were so busy that family members of the COVID-19 victims had to come in to help, like bringing firewood to a funeral pyre. Lines of corpses of COVID-19 victims await cremation at the Subhash Nagar crematory, in New Delhi on April 27. Photo: ANI At the Sarai Kale Khan cremation site in New Delhi, staff are handling approximately 60-70 bodies a day. This facility was originally capable of handling only 22 bodies. As a result, 27 new crematoriums have been built at this crematorium and dozens more are being added in a nearby park. Officials are also looking for more space near the city’s Yamuna River, as the COVID-19 death toll is expected to be even higher. Geeta Colony Cremation Site in New Delhi, India. Photo: India Today An employee at the Sarai Kale Khan crematorium shared that they were operating continuously from early morning to midnight. The Ghazipur crematorium in East Delhi had to build an additional 20 crematoriums in the parking lot. The situation is similarly tense, according to NDTV, about 25 other cremation and burial sites in the city. Sarai Kale Khan cremation site built 70 new crematoriums on the hideout when large numbers of corpses came here every day. Photo: India Today In the past 24 hours, India set a world record for new infections again, with 362,902 cases, while there were 3,285 new deaths, according to worldometers statistics site. According to CNN, India has recorded a total of more than 17.9 million cases of COVID since the outbreak of the pandemic, but the real number, according to experts, could be 30 times higher, which means that half a billion cases. Health officials and scientists in India have long warned that COVID-19 infections and reported deaths were negligible for a number of reasons, including poor infrastructure. , human error and low testing rate. India has pledged to provide emergency medical assistance amid overcrowded hospitals that continue to be unable to accommodate more patients due to a lack of beds and oxygen supplies. The country also imported 20 frozen vehicles and sent them to the states in an effort to address the shortage of oxygen vehicles. Many countries around the world, including the UK, Germany and the US, have also pledged to provide emergency medical aid to India in the context of the country’s health system struggling with COVID cases. -19 spike.

The Nigambodh Ghat Crematorium in New Delhi, India. Photo: Getty Images According to CNN (USA), a crematorium in the state of Uttar Pradesh is in a similar situation, with the number of bodies brought to cremation fivefold in recent weeks, as the 2nd wave of COVID-19s. booming in India. “We had to work day and night, at 100% capacity, to cremate bodies in time,” said Kamlesh Sailor, chairman of the Kurukshetra Cremation Facility Executive Trust in Surat City, Gujarat State. west India, said. Data difference As India’s health system is on the brink of collapse, several major cities have recorded far greater numbers of bodies sent to cremation and burial compared to deaths due to COVID-19. official father. On April 18, India recorded a record 273,810 cases of COVID-19 and 1,619 deaths. As of April 20, the total number of COVID-19 cases of this country has exceeded 15.5 million, second only to the US. A front line employee cremates a man who died of COVID-19 at a crematorium in the Indian suburbs of Mumbai. Photo: Reuters Reliable data is central to the government’s pandemic response, experts say. Without reliable data collection, the preparation of hospital beds and medical essentials will be extremely difficult. But Indian government officials say the disparity in mortality data could be caused by many factors, including an overly prudent body handling process. Many bodies are still cremated according to COVID-19, even if they are only 0.1% likely to be positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a health official said. “Many hospitalized patients were in critical condition and died before testing. There are cases where patients died before admission, we don’t know if they have COVID-19 or not”, the official said to be anonymous. Ms. Bhramar Mukherjee, Professor of Epidemiology and Biological Statistics at the University of Michigan, said there are many areas in India where accurate data cannot be collected. “Things are messed up. It feels like no one understands this situation, it’s annoying,” said Ms. Mukherjee. The crematorium is operating at full capacity The crematorium of patients COVID-19 in Surat broke out. Photo: AFP In Surat, the second largest city in the state of Gujarat, the crematorium Kurukshetra and Umra processed more than 100 bodies a day according to COVID-19 regulations last week. The number of bodies cremated is much higher than the daily death toll, according to the city’s official record of about 25 people. Mr. Prashant Kabrawala, representative of Narayan Trust, Ashwinikumar crematorial company, refused to provide the number of bodies cremated in accordance with COVID-19 regulations. However, he says the number has tripled in recent weeks. “I have never seen so many cremated bodies in the last years, even during the outbreak of the plague in 1994 and the flood of 2006,” Kabrawala said. A Government spokesperson for India in Gujarat declined to respond to a request for comment. India is not the only country that is skeptical of the SARS-CoV-2 virus statistical data. But documents and staff testimonies at cremations show that the disparity in officially reported deaths in India is much higher than in other countries. Professor Mukherjee’s study on the first wave of epidemics in India showed that the number of viral infections was 11 times more than officially reported, which is similar to research in other countries. Besides, the number of deaths in this country is actually 2-5 times higher than the reported data, far exceeding the global average. A relative of COVID-19 victim leans sadly against a glass window at a crematory in New Delhi. Photo: Getty In Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, data from Baikunthdham, the largest cremation facility for people with COVID-19, found that the number of corpses disposed of in April was twice as high as the number of deaths. Death from COVID-19 is recognized by the government. These figures do not take into account other burial facilities, or cases where COVID-19 victims were buried according to Muslim custom – the community makes up a quarter of Lucknow’s population. The number of bodies cremated under COVID-19 regulations has increased fivefold in recent weeks, said Azad, manager of the Baikunthdham facility. “We work day and night. The crematorium is constantly on fire, but many bodies are still waiting in line,” Azad said. People pray before burying the COVID-19 victims at a cemetery in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters Cremations are many times greater than the COVID-19 mortality data also recorded in many other parts of India. In just four days of April, two cremation facilities in Bhopal – the capital of Madhya Pradesh state, central India – recorded 187 bodies cremated according to COVID-19. Meanwhile, the number of deaths from COVID-19 officially announced by the authorities was only 5. Last week, the local Sandesh newspaper reported 63 bodies were taken to a hospital for patients with COVID-19 in the city of Ahmedabad. But that same day, the city authorities counted only 20 people who died from COVID-19. The Lancet Medical Journal says less than a quarter of all deaths in India are medically confirmed, especially in rural areas. This means that the actual COVID-19 mortality in many other Indian states may not be counted. “Most of the deaths are not reported so it is impossible to calculate,” said Ms. Mukherjee.

Lee MacMillan, the star on the social network Instagram, recently ended his life in tragedy. She is one of the victims of online bullying, an extremely dangerous flip side from social networks.

Lee MacMillan is a blogger with 74,000 followers on Instagram. The 28-year-old girl, famous for her van adventures with ex-boyfriend Max Bidstrup. Both have traveled from Canada to the Americas, South Africa … with the shepherd dog. At the end of January 2020, the couple announced the way everyone went, making many fans feel regretful.

At that time, in addition to words of comfort and encouragement, Lee also became the subject of some fans blaming and stoning. Gradually, the young girl fell into a state of depression before taking her own life. According to Lee’s family, the people who are always trying to bully Lee online are a small group of 74,000 fanpage followers.

They let go of her disparaging words for a long time. “Unfortunately, Lee has faced some sort of criticism and they have deeply influenced her. Our help was not enough for her to overcome the negative emotions they caused“The father of the Instagram social network star,” said Wil, sadly.

According to Daily Mail Australia, the Lee family hopes their daughter’s story can shed light on the devastating effects of cyberbullying can have on a person’s psychological health.

A global issue

Ipsos survey of cyberbullying in several countries. Photo: Statista

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) defines “cyber bullying” as bullying using digital technology. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. It is repetitive behavior, intended to frighten, anger, or embarrass the targeted people.

There are various forms of bullying on the Internet, such as the spread of lies, malicious rumors, and offensive comments; Post embarrassing photos of someone on social media; Sending harassing or threatening messages through messaging platforms; Impersonating someone online to send malicious messages to others …

In fact, bullying has always been a headache for many people and society for a long time. Now, with the use of social media becoming ubiquitous around the world, bullies are taking advantage of the “high-tech path” to commit these evils. There are no age or gender restrictions on victims of cyberbullying.

In September 2020, Microsoft released the results of an online bullying study, which found that 38% of people in 32 countries said they had been involved in a bullying case, as victim, bully or bystander.

In Vietnam, 51% of internet users, including 48% of adults and 54% of teenagers, said they had been involved in a “bullying case”, 21% said they had been a victim and 38 % are bystanders or witnesses bullying or harassment.

Rates of online bullying among Vietnamese students through studies from 2015 to 2017. Photo: UED Media

The study also surveyed adults about bullying, also known as “harassment”, both inside and outside the workplace. In Vietnam, 15% reported seeing bullying at their workplace and 44% reported having experienced bullying outside of their workplace.

According to another survey by Unicef ​​and the special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children, published in September 2019, one-third of teenagers in 30 countries said they were once victims of cyberbullying, of which one in five said they had dropped out of school because of cyberbullying and violence.

Surveys via anonymous messages are conducted through U-Report. More than 170,000 U-Report users aged 13-24 participated in this survey, including teenagers from Albania, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, France, Gambia, Ghana , India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam …

“Today, the classroom space connecting with the outside world also means that school hours no longer end by the time students leave the classroom, and sadly, bullying doesn’t stop there.“, Ms. Henrietta Fore, CEO of Unicef ​​organization said.

With the Covid-19 epidemic still going unpredictable, when measures are taken, children and adolescents have used online platforms more often as they have to learn from far. And as a result, the number of online bullying cases is certainly increasing.

The level of bullying among high school students, according to a 2018 survey of the Department of Psychology – Education, Da Nang Pedagogical University on cyberbullying, with the participation of more than 500 high school students. In the city.

Virtual bullying, real impact

Mr. Pham The Truong, General Director of Microsoft Vietnam, commented: “Cyberbullying has real-world consequences. In the case of cyberbullying, victims can be harmed at any time of the day by anonymous sources, and it is likely that the incident will be spread to a large number of people. People of all ages can be affected by online abuse, cruelty and abuse“.

Globally, when asked about the effects of workplace bullying, survey participants reported feeling humiliated (58%) globally, according to a Microsoft survey. ), followed by mental loss (52%) and loss of confidence (51%).

The effects also vary between generations. 53% of respondents aged 18-24 reported feeling isolated and depressed, while Gen X generation (those born between the 1960s and early 1980s) were underperforming. more fruit (58%). People who experience online bullying or harassment at work also reported feeling “unbearable or severe” pain.

When it comes to online bullying or harassment, Microsoft says, most people in Vietnam block bullies (63%) or share with friends about what happened (58%). , the rest ignored the bully (43%). 50% of survey respondents said that they reported behavior to social media companies or other providers.

Rate of bullying online in the world from 2008 to 2018. Photo: UED Media

In its report, Microsoft encourages people of all ages to report any online threats or harassment to the relevant online service provider. User reports play a key role in providing everyone with a safe and reliable online experience.

In the third quarter of 2020, the artificial intelligence (AI) system of Facebook discovered and removed 94.7% of the 22.1 million content that provoked hate on social pages; increased from 80.5% out of 6.9 million content over the same period of the previous year. Facebook is taking steps to use AI to remove these content from its platform.

“Online bullying is out of control in the world, and it needs to be stopped. People involved in this behavior must understand that their actions have real consequences. We need to find a way to stop them and the platforms for this to happen accountable“Lee MacMillan’s father said.

According to Mr. Luu Dinh Phuc, Director of the Department of Information and Communications (Ministry of Information and Communications), Vietnam has specific regulations on behavior on domestic websites. For overseas social networking platforms, offended persons can immediately report such platforms so that they can take measures to remove them, or send information to regulatory agencies such as the Department of Information and Communications, media information and local authorities.

The Department of Information and Communications has now established channels to request cross-border platforms to remove bad and malicious information. The Department has also set up a center to receive and process fake news at the address tingia.gov.vn and the introduction of prefix reception reflecting fake news 18008108. This center has the role of receiving, assessing and publishing fake news about information that may cause negative effects on the community, and offend the honor and dignity of individuals.

Information given by the fake news processing center will be shared on social networking sites, forums and newspapers for the community to understand, thereby reducing the disadvantages. In addition, when the center has announced fake news, the functional forces will base on that to investigate whether the objects spread inside or outside the country to handle. Mr. Phuc also added that in the coming time, the department will set up a specialized room dealing with fake news.

Le Minh

Lee MacMillan is a star on the social network Instagram. Photo: People

Indianapolis Star Daily quoted a police source announced at 23:30 on April 15 (US time), or around noon April 16 (in Vietnam time), saying many victims were discovered. FedEx international carrier office at 8951 Mirabel Rd, Indianapolis City, Indiana, USA.

Where the shooting took place

Indianapolis Police Department spokesman Genae Cook said police were at the scene at 23:00 on April 15 (local time) after receiving reports of many gunshots. They described it as a shooting and “had many victims with bullet-like injuries”.

Currently, this country’s security forces have surrounded and sealed off this entire area.

The scene outside the office of international shipping company FedEx in Indianapolis, after the incident. Photo: Indystar

According to the latest information from the police, the number of victims injured in the shooting is unknown, but many people have been taken to hospitals in the area; and the suspect who committed the incident committed suicide. The engine of the shootings is still unknown.

A Fedex spokesperson also confirmed that the company was at the scene of the attack, and pledged to coordinate to assist in the investigation with authorities.

A woman asked law enforcement at the scene to find a loved one inside the FedEx office. Photo: Indystar

Family and friends of the victim wait for news after the shooting. Photo: Indystar

This is the latest shooting to take place in America. At the end of March 2021, a shooting in an office building in Southern California claimed the lives of four people, including a child. On March 22, 10 people were killed in the shooting at a vegetable shop in the city of Boulder, Colorado.

Each year, the US records nearly 40,000 people killed in gun-related cases, and more than half of them are suicidal.

Bernard Madoff – the man behind the largest and most devastating pyramid scheme in history, taking over $ 65 billion of tens of thousands of victims worldwide, has gone from the pinnacle of fame. hope – from a powerful Wall Street tycoon to an extremely hated criminal who spends the rest of his life in a prison in North Carolina. The US federal prison agency confirmed that Bernard Madoff died at the age of 82 on April 14 while serving a prison term.

Super trick Bernard Madoff. Photo: Reuters

“We think he is God”

For decades, Bernard Madoff, former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange, has been regarded as a model of a self-made financial expert who always enjoys luck despite the volatility of the market.

He has attracted a large number of dedicated investment clients, from Florida retirees to the rich and famous, including director Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon, Fred Wilpon – team boss baseball New York Mets and Elie Wiesel – Nobel Peace Prize winners

Madoff, was born in 1938 in a middle-class Jewish neighborhood in Queens, New York. His father, Ralph, was a stockbroker – the son of Eastern European immigrants in the United States.

Madoff and his brother Peter arrived on Wall Street in 1960 with the meager money saved from working as lifeguards and installing sprinkler systems. Madoff studied political science and law before founding Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities (BMIS). BMIS has built a reputation for large deals on the Nasdaq. In 1980, the company owned three floors of a high-rise building in downtown Manhattan.

Madoff helped make Nasdaq the largest stock exchange in North America through efforts to build its competitive advantage and increase its influence between 1970 and 1980. He was later appointed. President Nasdaq, has become a reliable figure in the eyes of investors as well as regulators.

“We think he is God. We entrust everything into his hands “, Elie Wiesel – Nobel Peace Prize winner shared.

Silently “cheat black child”

But what the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not discover is that behind the scenes, in a separate and closed office, Madoff secretly runs the virtual wealth network using the money of the houses. New investments to pay back the old ones. If other ponzi scams work by paying high returns to investors and then collapsing quickly, Madoff pays a modest but steady return to perpetuate the scam over the long term.

Over the years, at least $ 13 billion has been invested in Madoff’s missions, the US authorities said. The collected documents show that Madoff’s profits are always stable at 2 digits even during market downturns. Before Madoff was arrested, many reports said that the amount of invested assets had reached 65 billion USD.

Kim in the bag for a long time also emerged

It all collapsed in 2008 after Madoff’s business was uncovered as a classic Ponzi scheme that brought the businessman billions. This mission has evaporated all money and wiped out the fortunes of investors – rich and poor, shattering many charities and funds around the world. Madoff – the biggest fraud boss in Wall Street history is so hated that he must wear a bulletproof vest to court after admitting his crime.

Madoff’s crimes not only ruined the lives of 37,000 victims, but also destroyed his own family, including Madoff’s two sons. Mark – one of his children committed suicide in 2010 – two years after his father was arrested. Another left son, Andrew, died of cancer at the age of 48. His wife, Ruth, is still alive and is currently hiding somewhere in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Madoff has created “a legend around him that makes everything special, unique and all,” said Elie Wiesel, a victim of the Ponzi mission that was seized for $ 15.2 million. are kept secret ”. Like many of his clients, Madoff and his wife enjoy a lavish lifestyle. They own a $ 7 million apartment in Manhattan, a $ 11 million real estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and a $ 4 million home on Long Island. In addition, his family has a house in the south of France, private aircraft and yachts.

In a report released in 2009, lawyer Irving Picard, representing the victims of the scam said: “The investigation of Madoff’s assets has led to a maze of funds, nests organizations and many international agencies are related and intertwined in unprecedented complexity with a width that seems to have no stops “.

The report said Madoff’s scam spread widely: Britain, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, Gibraltar, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bahamas. More than 15,400 lawsuits have been filed against Madoff.

Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009, saying he wanted to apologize to all victims and was deeply ashamed of his behavior. After being confined to an attic apartment in Manhattan for a while, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison in June 2009 and began serving in July 2009. The Madoff’s property was auctioned off. The US government also set up a trust to recoup the money that Madoff’s company has put into investments and pay thousands of victims.

Today (April 15), the People’s Court of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province brought the case of “fraudulent appropriation of property” occurred at Sao Vang Investment Joint Stock Company (referred to as Sao Vang company for short, address number 257). Ba Cu, Ward 4, Vung Tau City) to trial. This is a fraud case with the amount of hundreds of billion dong.

In court, the defendant Pham Thi Thu Ha (SN 1983, hometown of Ha Tinh, residing in Vung Tau City) was prosecuted by VKSND of the same level for fraudulent appropriation of property.

Concerning this case, the mastermind – defendant Huynh Thi Ngan Trang (SN 1983, resident of Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province) has fled and is being wanted.

Defendant Pham Thi Thu Ha at the trial this morning (April 15). Photo: Quang Hung

From the early morning, hundreds of people who were the victims, who were involved in the case have been in court, crowded in the hall and the railing outside the courtroom.

Some victims also brought law books to prepare for the argument in court.

However, after the examination of the composition of the court, the Panel decided to postpone the trial for the reasons: many victims are absent, the person with related obligations and the victim requested the postponement … , delay after more than 1 month, will be reopened.

According to the list announced by the secretary, this trial the court summoned more than 144 victims and more than 400 people with related obligations. However, only more than 100 victims were present and more than 134 persons with related rights and obligations participated.

After the decision to postpone the trial, many defendants petitioned to send the People’s Court to return the files to further investigate the case, they said that the procedural agency had “overlooked” the crime, many related issues in the case. the judgment has not been satisfactorily resolved …

Appropriated nearly 224 billion dong of 433 customers

According to the case file, from 2012 to June 2017, Huynh Thi Ngan Trang – Chairman of Sao Vang and Pham Thi Thu Ha – held the positions: Director, Deputy General Director, The treasurer of Sao Vang Company deceived 433 customers to steal nearly 224 billion dong.

Trang and Ha confessed that during the above period, Sao Vang company invested in projects, bought shares at a loss, had no revenue, but both still maintained to pay profits to customers, taking money from the customer pays the customer, the latter pays the first.

Hundreds of people were harmed, who were on duty involved in court early in the morning. Photo: Quang Hung

Many participants in court leave the courtroom after the decision to postpone. Photo: Quang Hung

In December 2016, Sao Vang Company terminated the investment activities of projects, but continued to mobilize capital from customers for investment cooperation. By June 2017, although Sao Vang Company could not afford to pay, Trang continued to deceive customers through the service staff, customer department to appeal and entice customers by offer a profit rate of 22-30% for them to deposit money into the company and then appropriate a portion of paying for previous customers.

In order to carry out the above behavior, Trang and Ha have made false documents on the charter capital contribution of member companies in cash; taking advantage of the position of General Director, concurrently Chairman of the Board of Directors, Trang instructs employees to spend money for the “virtual” project investment page, no revenue.

After that, Trang pays a certain amount of money to maintain the cash fund of Sao Vang, to ensure the payment of principal and profit for customers, pay commissions for employees and operating expenses. …

With the above deceitful tricks, Trang fraudulently appropriated the money of 433 customers with the amount of more than VND 223 billion. Specifically, Sao Vang original amount has not yet paid to these customers is more than 407 billion VND; the amount of profit paid is more than 174 billion dong; the amount of commissions for employees is over 9 billion.

For Pham Thi Thu Ha’s behavior, the investigation and police determined that between 2010 and 2016, Ha was a shareholder, holding important positions in the company, playing a role in helping for phishing page with the above tricks.

From 2015 to 2016, Ha helped Trang directly sign 70 investment cooperation contracts and 7 maturity contracts with 67 customers, and signed annexes of investment cooperation contracts with fixed profit agreements. Payable to customers 27.6% / year, expected profit from 15-36% / year, with commitment to pay profit in advance to customers, regardless of business results.

Consequently, 67 customers trusted and were “trapped” to pay Sao Vang, with the appropriated amount of nearly 24 billion VND.

The defendants petitioned for the return of additional investigation files because they believed that the case “omitted the crime”. Someone brought law books to court to prepare for the argument. Photo: Quang Hung

At the investigation agency, Trang confessed all the criminal acts committed by Trang. Ba Ria – Vung Tau Provincial Police CSDT has prosecuted the defendant, applied measures to prevent leaving the residence, delayed exit for Trang due to her pregnancy, child nursing under 36 months old.

However, on March 26, 2020, Trang fled the locality, so the investigating agency issued a pursuit decision, suspended the investigation for the accused and decided to separate the criminal case for criminal acts. Trang’s defendant, after being caught, will be handled later.

At the same time, the police agency ordered distraint, suspend transactions for assets such as land use rights, shares related to Trang and Sao Vang company.

Defendant Ha confessed his crime, but said that everything was directed by Trang, did not intentionally commit fraud to appropriate property with Trang.

However, with documents and evidence gathered together with testimony during the settlement of the case, the police agency determined that Ha was an accomplice with Trang on the crime of appropriating property.

In this case, the investigation agency also worked with 13 shareholders of Sao Vang company and identified some shareholders who did not participate in the company’s operations, did not know Trang and Ha committed criminal acts. insufficient grounds to consider criminal liability.
Meanwhile, some other shareholders denied the responsibility and role related to the defendant’s criminal acts, so when the Trang is arrested, the investigation agency will continue to consider and handle.