Ex-Amazon Software Engineer Sentenced to Jail for Stealing $12 Million in Cryptocurrency

An ex-Amazon software engineer has been sentenced to three years in jail after admitting to stealing millions of dollars in cryptocurrency by hacking two decentralised finance platforms. US District Judge Victor Marrero pronounced the sentence to 34-year-old Shakeeb Ahmed, an immigrant from Saudi Arabia, who pleaded guilty in December.

Ahmed took advantage of flaws in the decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms’ ‘smart contracts’ to insert fake pricing data and generate $12 million in inflated and unearned profits that he withdrew in cryptocurrency. ‘Smart contracts’ are computer programmes that automatically execute transactions when pre-determined conditions are met.

Ahmed, who previously served as the technical lead of Amazon’s ‘bug bounty’ programme, hacked platforms believed to be Crema Finance and Nirvana Finance. The latter closed shortly after Ahmed’s July 2022 hack.

Prosecutors sought a four-year jail sentence, citing the seriousness of Ahmed’s crime, while his lawyers argued for probation, stating that he hacked the platforms when his mental health was poor and used the stolen funds for a sibling’s medical procedure.

Ahmed expressed shame and disappointment for his actions in court, likening his hacking to a cheat code in a video game rather than a serious financial crime. The case highlights the risks associated with cryptocurrency and the importance of cybersecurity in the digital age.