Stephen Akridge, one of the co-founders of Solana Labs, is currently facing a lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, in San Francisco court.
The lawsuit alleges that Akridge withheld staking rewards from Solana tokens, which he accumulated after their divorce agreement. Rossi claims that Akridge retained the staking rewards for himself by directing SOL tokens to addresses he controlled, despite providing her with control over three crypto wallets as part of their settlement.
The lawsuit suggests that there is a significant difference in expertise regarding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology between the two parties, with Akridge possessing more knowledge in this area due to his role as a co-founder of Solana. Rossi discovered the alleged withholding of funds two months after their divorce was finalized and accuses Akridge of taking advantage of her lack of knowledge in the crypto space.
The lawsuit includes claims of fraud, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment, and Rossi is seeking actual and compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages, the total amount of which will be determined at trial.
In a separate incident, a phishing scam targeting cryptocurrency users has been uncovered by SlowMist, a blockchain security firm. The scam involved the use of fake Zoom meeting links to distribute malware and steal sensitive information, including private keys and wallet data.
The attackers created a phishing domain that closely resembled a legitimate Zoom domain, tricking users into downloading a malicious installation package disguised as a Zoom application. Once installed, the malware prompted users for their system password, allowing the attackers to access critical data such as system information, browser cookies, and cryptocurrency wallet credentials.
The sophisticated approach employed by the hackers enabled them to obtain wallet mnemonic phrases and private keys, facilitating the theft of significant amounts of cryptocurrency. SlowMist's analysis revealed that the malware, identified as a Trojan, was capable of executing scripts that decrypted data and extracted credentials stored on victims' devices.
The phishing campaign, which began on November 14, 2024, has already attempted to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from various users. SlowMist tracked the on-chain transfer of stolen funds and discovered that one hacker made over $1 million by converting stolen cryptocurrencies into Ethereum.
The stolen assets were subsequently transferred to multiple platforms, including Binance and Gate.io, where they were converted into Tether and other cryptocurrencies. The attackers' back-end system, located in the Netherlands, monitored user interactions through the Telegram API, indicating a well-organized operation with potential ties to Russian-language scripts.