us marshals digital asset investigation

While two hackers were busy bragging about their exploits on a streaming platform called “The Com,” they inadvertently revealed their biggest score yet — over $60 million stolen from U.S. government crypto wallets.

Talk about a facepalm moment. Their digital robbery caught the attention of on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who spotted the theft during the hackers’ online argument when they accidentally screenshared their wallet addresses.

These weren’t just any crypto wallets. They belonged to the U.S. Marshals Service, which manages billions in seized digital assets from federal criminal cases. Including stuff from the infamous 2016 Bitfinex hack. Pretty big deal.

The primary breach drained over $60 million in late 2025, with an additional $24 million heist observed in October 2024. One wallet alone held 12,540 ether, worth about $36 million. Most October funds were returned within a day, but roughly $700,000 vanished through instant exchanges. Gone.

The finger’s pointing at John “Lick” Daghita, son of CMDSS president Dean Daghita. CMDSS, a Virginia-based firm, was contracted by USMS to manage and dispose of crypto assets. Convenient access, huh?

Still unclear if junior got the keys from dad, company systems, or through other means. ZachXBT traced the funds backward, verified they were USMS-controlled addresses, and reported his findings to authorities.

Total thefts linked to these wallets? Over $90 million. The attacker even sent ZachXBT 0.6767 ETH, which was forwarded to a government seizure address. Weird flex.

The incident has prompted serious questions about national crypto security. Patrick Witt, executive director of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Digital Assets, has become involved in coordinating the government’s response to the breach. Wave Digital Assets has already requested a DOJ investigation into USMS crypto management, citing procurement failures and oversight issues.

USMS spokesperson Brady McCarron confirmed the investigation to Bloomberg News but wouldn’t comment further. Classic government response.

With crypto hack losses exceeding $3.4 billion in 2025, this breach exposes major vulnerabilities in how the feds handle digital assets. Not a great look.

This type of public flaunting of stolen assets is actually common among hackers during band for band competitions, where cybercriminals competitively display their illicit gains.

Using cold storage wallets could have prevented this massive security breach by keeping the cryptocurrency assets offline and away from internet-connected systems vulnerable to hacking.

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