Poker Player Charged in Las Vegas for Alleged $500K Bitcoin Scam

We are learning that a poker player was charged last week in Las Vegas for allegedly swindling a novice cryptocurrency trader for as much as $500,000 in in 2020.

23-year-old Filippos Liakounakos was booked and faces three felony charges in Las Vegas Justice Court that include identity theft.

The victim claims he was approached by a known business associated via the encryption app Telegram in November 2020.  The two entered into an arrangement whereby the victim transferred $500,000 in Bitcoin, including a $50,000 seller’s fee, in exchange for money.  But the Bitcoin was actually transferred to an imposter believed to be Liakounakos, who mostly played poker online.

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The victim's name was redacted from the police report.

In the warrant for Liakounakos's arrest, a detective reviewed the transaction on the public blockchain "and observed the BTC (bitcoin) being moved rapidly in what is commonly known as ‘peeling’ to obfuscate where the BTC was going."

Liakounakos had been named on a poker forum months prior for allegedly perpetrating a Bitcoin scam.  He was described there as "the tall young Greek kid who plays PLO."

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com