Tech Firm Hit with $2.5M Crypto Demand

⏱ 3 min read

A former data analyst turned blackmailer is facing time after a jury convicted him of trying to shake down a D.C.-based tech company for $2.5 million. Cameron Curry, 27, of Charlotte, North Carolina, flooded the company with threats to expose sensitive data starting December 11, 2023, after learning his contract wouldn’t be renewed.

Curry, operating under the online alias “Loot,” bombarded company employees and executives with over 60 emails demanding cryptocurrency. The threats weren’t empty – Curry had spent months as a data analyst, giving him access to personnel files, corporate records, and the personally identifiable information (PII) of employees. He vowed to leak everything if his demands weren’t met, promising to publicly shame the company and report a data breach.

Federal agents with the FBI raided Curry’s Charlotte home on January 24, 2024, seizing electronic devices. A forensic investigation quickly confirmed he was the source of the extortion attempts. Jurors in the Western District of North Carolina needed just three days to return a guilty verdict on all six counts of transmitting interstate communications with intent to extort.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., led by Jeanine Ferris Pirro, didn’t release details on Curry’s sentencing date, but a conviction on these charges carries a hefty penalty. He’ll likely be staring down a serious stretch when Judge Kenneth D. Bell hands down the sentence.