Economist Indicted for Attempting to Extort Bitcoins from Oil Giant BP

Another genius Bitcoin enthusiast.

A former BP economist was charged with five counts of wire fraud for allegedly trying to extort Bitcoins from the Houstion-based oil giant BP.

George Koutsostamatis, 28, who worked for BP in Chicago, was indicted last month in Houston for allegedly trying to exchange sensitive corporate documents for Bitcoins. He was arrested in Chicago and brought to Houston where he appeared in federal court last week, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston.

Koutsostamatis worked as a refining supply economist in Chicago for BP Corporation North America. He worked on BP's trading floor which gave him access to BP documents. Koutsostamatis allegedly emailed BP and falsely represented that he had infiltrated the company's computer network.

Koutsostamatis allegedly demanded payment of 125 Bitcoins, according to the indictment, and if BP would not pay, he planned to release personnel information including employee Social Security numbers along with sensitive corporate documents to BP's competition. On Monday, Bitcoin opened at $19,086.64 per coin.

If convicted of wire fraud, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.

The FBI Houston Cyber Task Force investigated this case.

-RW

(via The Department of Justice)