A self-proclaimed crypto influencer who promoted a “Multi Millionaire Mentality” online has been sentenced to over a year in federal prison for orchestrating a massive crypto jacking operation that defrauded two major cloud computing providers of more than $3.5 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that Charles O. Parks III, who operated under the alias “CP3O,” was sentenced in a Brooklyn federal court to one year and one day in prison. Parks pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December 2023 for a scheme that illegally generated nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency by stealing vast amounts of computing power.
Crypto jacking is a form of cybercrime where an attacker secretly uses a victim’s computing resources, such as processing power and electricity, to mine for cryptocurrencies without permission.
The Deceptive Scheme: How Millions in Cloud Resources Were Stolen
Between January and August 2021, Parks executed a sophisticated plan to deceive two of the world’s largest cloud service providers. According to prosecutors, he created fake corporate identities, including “Multi Millionaire LLC” and “CP3O LLC,” to apply for and receive elevated computing privileges. The indictment noted the providers were subsidiaries of tech giants headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and Redmond, Washington.
Parks lied about his intentions, telling one provider he was building an online training company that would serve 10,000 students. However, the DOJ stated, “in reality, there was no training company, and there were no students.” Instead, Parks used the high-powered cloud services to mine approximately $970,000 worth of cryptocurrencies, including Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR).
When the providers began to question the “questionable data usage and mounting unpaid subscription balances,” Parks deflected their inquiries to continue the operation.
Building a Brand on a Foundation of Fraud
The illicitly mined crypto didn’t just sit in a digital wallet. Prosecutors detailed how Parks laundered the funds through a complex network of crypto exchanges, an NFT marketplace, online payment processors, and traditional banks. He converted the digital assets into cash to finance a life of luxury, which included:
A new Mercedes-Benz
Expensive jewelry
First-class travel
Ironically, Parks used this fraudulently funded lifestyle to build his credibility as a crypto influencer. He boasted about his wealth online, sharing tips on his YouTube channel in a video titled “Multi Millionaire Mentality.” His website, which remains active, offered a self-improvement and wealth coaching program for a monthly fee, with options for one-on-one consulting and rewards paid in his own crypto token.
As US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. stated, Parks was not the “innovator and thought leader he had branded himself to be.”
Justice Served: The Sentencing
After facing charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful transactions—which carried a potential maximum sentence of 50 years—Parks pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
“Charles Parks manipulated technology, stole millions in computer resources, and illegally mined cryptocurrency — and today’s sentencing holds him fully accountable for his deceitful actions,” said New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.
In addition to his prison sentence, Parks was ordered to forfeit $500,000 and the Mercedes-Benz. The court will determine the final restitution amount owed to the victims at a later date.
