U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton has handed down a 27-month federal prison sentence to Coury Robert Badnell (38, Oakland, FL) for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The sentence follows guilty pleas from Anthony Roberto Hutchinson (26, Orlando), Deandre Devante Levy (26, Orlando), and Jordan Brian Burgos (26, Orlando), who received prison terms of 24 months, 15 months, and 8 months, respectively, for their roles in the same conspiracy.
Court documents reveal that the group executed a SIM-swapping scheme, targeting unsuspecting victims and pilfering more than $509,475 in cryptocurrency proceeds. In a SIM-swapping fraud, perpetrators take control of an individual’s wireless service, aiming to gain access to email and financial accounts. The conspiracy specifically targeted individuals who held cryptocurrency.
During the course of the scheme, Badnell, employed as a manager at a major wireless communications provider in Orlando, utilized his insider access to circumvent the provider’s security protocols. This allowed the group to swap SIM cards on cellphones they controlled with those assigned to victims’ phones. Consequently, the conspirators gained access to and depleted the cryptocurrency accounts of their victims.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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