The US Justice Department announced on Monday that it has filed a civil forfeiture action to reclaim more than $154 million in money that was allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corp (6758.T) and then confiscated by law enforcement jobs during the FBI's investigation of the theft.
According to the department, Rei Ishii, a Tokyo-based employee of Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd, allegedly embezzled the property in May and converted it to more than 3,879 Bitcoins worth more than $180 million today. Those funds were seized by law enforcement on Dec. 1, based on the FBI investigation, it said.
According to the complaint filed in federal court in the Southern District of California, Ishii reportedly faked transaction instructions, causing the monies to be transferred to an account he controlled at a bank in La Jolla, California, and converted them to Bitcoin.
"All the Bitcoins traceable to the theft have been recovered and fully preserved. Ishii has been criminally charged in Japan," the Justice Department said.
