Brandon LaRoque, a retired man, recently said that he lost all his cryptocurrency savings, over 1.2 million XRP, due to a hacking incident involving his Ellipal cold wallet.
This loss is more than $3 million according to current market prices. LaRoque, involved in cryptocurrency since 2017, shared his experience in a YouTube video. He expressed his shock and sadness about suddenly losing all his life savings.
The breach occurred on October 12, but LaRoque discovered the theft four days later when he checked his wallet. The hacker started by making two small transactions, each for 10 XRP.
They moved around 1.29 million XRP to a new wallet. LaRoque said that the stolen money was divided among about 30 different wallets. They used a way to conceal where the money went, transferring it to between 500 and 900 wallets.
After the incident, LaRoque told the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) about it and reached out to local police. He was frustrated because local authorities said they couldn’t handle crimes related to cryptocurrency.
This event has significantly impacted LaRoque’s retirement plans, as he and his wife were preparing to move to Las Vegas and purchase a house. He is now concerned that they may need to return to work due to losing money.
ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, has linked the theft to a money laundering scheme in Southeast Asia. He discovered that the hacker used Bridgers to complete over 120 transactions from Ripple to Tron. The stolen XRP was laundered through over-the-counter (OTC) services connected to Huione, an illegal marketplace that the U.S. government has recently put sanctions on.
ZachXBT noted that LaRoque might have mistakenly used his Ellipal cold wallet as if it were a hot wallet, resulting in the loss. He said that the chances of recovering the stolen money are low because over 95% of recovery companies are viewed as taking advantage of people.
After the incident, Ellipal stated that they are in direct contact with LaRoque and are committed to assisting him.
