A 25-year-old North Carolina man, Cameron Curry, from Raleigh has entered a guilty plea to allegations of extorting a Washington D.C.-based company for millions by threatening to release stolen sensitive data, official reports confirm. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Curry, who previously worked as a contract employee for the company, demanded $2.5 million under the threat of leaking sensitive financial records and personal information of employees.
Curry’s criminal activities came to light after his employment was set to terminate in December 2023; he started sending menacing emails to his former employer under the alias “Loot,” and in one such communication, he bluntly stated, “If you wish to reclaim your data, we recommend doing so promptly at 2.5 million USD in order to save your company and stocks, as each subsequent month will incur a $100,000 USD increase,” as detailed in the court documents. Over the course of roughly two months, he sent over 60 emails bearing similar threats, Curry admitted to his offenses before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb, with sentencing scheduled on January 28, 2025.
The conclusive identification of Curry as the extortionist, who ominously dubbed himself “Loot,” was achieved through the analysis of email metadata, user information, and cryptocurrency wallet details used in the extortion attempt. This was part of the evidence that led to his arrest, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. The arrest occurred after a tense standoff at his Raleigh residence, where he was apprehended by the FBI after he rebuked requests to exit his abode and further escalated the situation by sending additional threats to publish the company’s data if his arrest proceeded…