The man was arrested for allegedly stealing cryptocurrency worth $300,000 from two passengers.
Scottsdale Police Department says that Nuruhussein Hussen onboarded passengers at a local Hotel by pretending to be the Uber the passenger had requested. According to recent reports, he even addressed them by their names. Fox10 Phoenix report.
It is not clear how Hussein could have known the names of passengers or that they ordered Ubers. Investigation is ongoing.
While the passengers were inside, the man asked the victims to lend him their phones and said that his own was broken. In one incident, he asked the passengers to open their Uber apps to verify why they indicated the driver was not at the pick-up spot.
Hussein, with his phone in hand, transferred the money from the Coinbase account of the victim to an address that he owned. One of the passengers, who became suspicious over his actions on their phones, told him to “chill or something bad would happen.”
Agents of the U.S. Secret Service arrested Hussein and accused him of theft, fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors requested—and obtained—a secured cash bond set at $200,000. He will be monitored electronically if he is able to pay his bond.
Hussein is also barred from accessing the internet or overseas travel due to concerns that he could destroy evidence or flee to Ethiopia—where he frequently travels. The next scheduled court date is December 18.
Jameson Lopp is a cypherpunk and maintains a GitHub page that lists the 19 cases of crypto robberies reported offline in 2024. The 19 incidents are almost on par with those reported in 2023 but are also down from the 32 listed in 2022.
Recent incidents included the November abduction of Dean Skurka CEO of Toronto-based crypto company WonderFi Technologies. Unknown suspects forced Skurka into a vehicle during rush hour, demanding a $720,000 ransom for his release—and then released him after it was paid.
In November, another victim of crypto theft was a Ukrainian. “$5 wrench attack” After being robbed 250,000 USDT. According to a local newspaper, he was restrained by cable ties at a hotel while being intimidated using weapons.
Stacy Elliott is the editor.