A 20-year-old Florida man has pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to significant cryptocurrency thefts, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Noah Michael Urban, known online by several aliases including ‘King Bob,’ was linked to the infamous Scattered Spider hacking group. According to court documents, Urban admitted to committing SIM swap fraud, aggravated identity theft, and stealing over $800,000 in Bitcoin and Ethereum from five victims whose digital wallets were compromised.
Prosecutors revealed that Urban, along with other members of the Scattered Spider gang, orchestrated a scheme to steal personal information from victims to hijack their phone numbers. The unauthorized access enabled them to take control of the victims’ online accounts and manipulate their cryptocurrency wallets to carry out the theft. This method highlights a growing trend in cybercrime where social engineering is exploited to bypass security measures.
The criminal organization, Scattered Spider, has become notorious for its audacious attacks, including high-profile breaches at major Las Vegas casinos such as MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment. The gang posed as IT staff to deceive employees into revealing login credentials or gaining unauthorized access to internal systems.
Urban gained infamy beyond the realm of cryptocurrency for leaking tracks from well-known music artists, including Ariana Grande and Playboi Carti, by breaching accounts of music industry executives, as covered in a report by Krebs on Security. His rapid rise in notoriety was accompanied by an aggressive approach to cybercrime, which ultimately led to his arrest in January 2024, when law enforcement stormed his residence.
During the raid, authorities reported that Urban attempted to delete his computer data and social media history, indicating a desperate effort to destroy evidence of his criminal activities. As part of his plea agreement, he must forfeit not only his jewelry and currency but also $13 million in restitution to compensate 59 victims for their losses. Urban is expected to receive his sentence within the next 75 days.
While Urban faces legal repercussions, charges against other alleged members of the Scattered Spider gang remain active. Some of Urban’s associates are believed to be operating from various international locations, seemingly unaffected by the ongoing investigation.