SIM-swap hacker suspected of stealing $400M from FTX requests temporary release to attend birthday party

A SIM-swapping hacker suspected of stealing $400 million in cryptocurrency from FTX has requested a temporary release, citing his desire to attend his girlfriend’s sister’s birthday party at an Illinois Chuck E. Cheese location. Robert Powell, also known as “ElSwapo1,” was arrested in February along with two alleged accomplices and subsequently released on $10,000 bail. The conditions of his release include avoiding non-essential internet use and any online gambling, and that he remain at home except for court appearances or medical treatment. However, Powell's lawyers asked the court to "modify his release conditions" and allow him to attend the above-mentioned birthday party from 2 pm to 6 pm on Sunday, November 10, and stated that according to the request, "Powell has fully complied with all release conditions" and "all other release conditions should continue to be effective." The request also stated that "the pretrial and government do not oppose this request." (Protos) Previously in February, the three were indicted for planning a SIM card swap scam to steal more than $400 million from the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was in a bankruptcy vortex. According to the indictment filed by the Department of Justice in the federal court in Washington, Robert Powell, Emily Hernandez and Carter Rohn collected personal data from about 50 victims and used this information to convince mobile phone service providers to transfer the victims' phone numbers to fake phones in their possession. Doing so allowed the three to intercept text messages-including multi-factor authentication codes, which allowed them to break into the victims' financial accounts and crypto wallets.