US Court Reopens AT&T’s $24 Million SIM Swap Crypto Theft Case: Details

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reopened a case against AT&T, an American multinational telecommunications company whose employees enabled a subscriber identity module (SIM) exchange that leading to the theft of $24 million worth of cryptocurrencies in 2018.

According to a filing released by the court, nearly all of the counts brought against AT&T were properly dismissed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, except for the claim where the plaintiff presented an issue for trial under Section 222 of Federal Communications. Act (FCA).

Court reopens case against AT&T

In 2018, 15-year-old Ellis Pinsky teamed up with 21-year-old Nicholas Truglia to bribe an AT&T employee to transfer crypto investor Michael Terpin’s SIM card information to another blank card in his phone The SIM swap allowed the duo to bypass the two-factor authentication protecting Terpin’s crypto wallets and steal $24 million of his crypto assets.

After Terpin, the founder of international incubator BitAngels, discovered the incident, he sued AT&T and used his investigative skills to track down Pinsky. The 15-year-old returned $2 million from the stolen deposit. Terpin also dragged Truglia to court a year later, seeking $75.8 million in damages, and won. The court also sentenced Truglia to 18 months in prison.

The crypto investor sued Pinsky after he turned 18 in 2020, seeking $71.4 million in damages. The plaintiff eventually settled with Terpin to pay just $22 million and also agreed to testify in the case against AT&T.

Damages reduced to $45 million

In 2020, a California judge dismissed Terpin’s request for $216 million in damages from AT&T and 12 other claims as lacking standing. Judge Otis Wright approved only three of the 16 claims filed by the crypto investor.

Earlier this year, Terpin filed an appeal against the California judge’s decision. The appeals court has upheld the judge’s dismissal of some claims while upholding Wright’s summary judgment on charges brought after hackers gained control of part of Terpin’s phone and fired him in part

Since the panel did not reverse Wright’s dismissal of Terpin’s $216 million claim in damages, the crypto investor is seeking $45 million from AT&T.

Meanwhile, another crypto investor sued AT&T in 2020 for aiding cybercriminals in a SIM swapping attack that robbed him of $1.8 million in cryptocurrencies.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored) Binance Free $600 (Exclusive to CryptoPotato): Use this link to register a new account and receive an exclusive welcome offer of $600 to Binance (full details).

2024 LIMITED OFFER on BYDFi Exchange – Up to $2888 Welcome Reward, Use this link to register and open a 100 USDT-M position for free!