Paul Vernon was once the owner of a fast-growing cryptocurrency exchange. Today, he is a fugitive, accused of stealing over $1 billion in Bitcoin. Here\u2019s his shocking\u00a0story.<\/p>\n
Early Life and Struggles<\/p>\n
Paul joined the U.S. Army in 1994. That\u2019s where he met his wife, Lori Ann. He was an entrepreneur and started businesses like OnTime Online, a web hosting company, and DVD Barn, a competitor to\u00a0Netflix.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, none of these businesses were successful. By 2010, Paul and Lori had financial problems and filed for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
Entering the Crypto\u00a0World<\/p>\n
In 2011, Paul started mining Bitcoin when it was only $10 per coin. He also mined other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Feathercoin.<\/p>\n
Then, he had a big idea. Most crypto exchanges at the time only traded Bitcoin. Paul saw an opportunity and created Cryptsy, an exchange that supported many altcoins.<\/p>\n
Cryptsy\u2019s Rapid\u00a0Growth<\/p>\n
By 2014, Cryptsy had 200,000 customers and listed 130 different cryptocurrencies. Traders were making over 33,000 transactions per\u00a0day.<\/p>\n
That same year, Mt. Gox, the world\u2019s largest Bitcoin exchange, collapsed. Many users moved to Cryptsy, making it even more\u00a0popular.<\/p>\n
The Problems\u00a0Begin<\/p>\n
By mid-2014, customers started facing issues with\u00a0Cryptsy.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Deposits were\u00a0missing<\/p>\n
\u2022 Trades were\u00a0delayed<\/p>\n
\u2022 Account balances showed incorrect amounts<\/p>\n
People were getting\u00a0nervous.<\/p>\n
A group of podcasters investigated Cryptsy and found concerning signs. Paul was nervous and defensive when questioned.<\/p>\n
By October 2014, a user sued Cryptsy, claiming Paul took 140 Bitcoin (worth $70,000 at the time). The case was settled out of court, but problems continued.<\/p>\n
The Big\u00a0Collapse<\/p>\n
Rumors spread that U.S. government agencies like the SEC, IRS, and FinCEN were investigating Cryptsy. Paul denied everything.<\/p>\n
Then, withdrawals were suddenly suspended.<\/p>\n
Shortly after, Paul announced that Cryptsy had been hacked, and 13,000 Bitcoin was stolen. He asked customers for help, but he still owed them over 10,000\u00a0BTC.<\/p>\n
Paul Vernon Disappears<\/p>\n
Angry customers filed a class-action lawsuit against\u00a0Paul.<\/p>\n
But when lawyers tried to find him, he was gone. He had vanished from his home and\u00a0office.<\/p>\n
At the same time, his wife, Lori Ann, revealed that they were getting a divorce. She claimed Paul had run away to China with a mistress.<\/p>\n
Investigators discovered that Paul had sold $3.3 million in Bitcoin on Coinbase and used the money to buy luxury houses and\u00a0cars.<\/p>\n
His wife was also sued because the court believed she helped Paul hide the stolen Bitcoin. She had to give up her house and\u00a0jewelry.<\/p>\n
Where Is Paul Vernon\u00a0Now?<\/p>\n
Authorities believe Paul still holds over 11,000 Bitcoin, worth over $1 billion\u00a0today.<\/p>\n
For years, investigators watched the blockchain. Then, they saw something strange\u200a\u2014\u200athe stolen Bitcoin started\u00a0moving.<\/p>\n
Paul Vernon has not been seen since 2014. The U.S. Department of Justice considers him a wanted fugitive.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s even a rumor that he started a new crypto exchange called BiteBi9 under a fake name\u200a\u2014\u200a\u201cBao Luo,\u201d which is Chinese for\u00a0Paul.<\/p>\n
The Mystery\u00a0Remains<\/p>\n
No one knows where Paul Vernon is or what happened to the stolen\u00a0Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
Is he hiding somewhere, living off his stolen\u00a0fortune?<\/p>\n
Or will he eventually be\u00a0caught?<\/p>\n
Only time will\u00a0tell.<\/p>\n
The Rise and Fall of Paul Vernon: The Crypto Fugitive Who Vanished with $1 Billion<\/a> was originally published in Coinmonks<\/a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paul Vernon was once the owner of a fast-growing cryptocurrency exchange. Today, he is a fugitive, accused of stealing over $1 billion in Bitcoin. Here\u2019s his shocking\u00a0story. Early Life and Struggles Paul joined the U.S. Army in 1994. That\u2019s where he met his wife, Lori Ann. He was an entrepreneur and started businesses like OnTime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":136590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/136590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}