You Won’t Believe How One Man Tried to Outrun a $186M Crypto Scandal With a Fake Name

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Picture this: Alexander Gurevich—or “Alexander Block” if he’s feeling mysterious—decides May Day is the perfect occasion to star in his own airport thriller. Gurevich, a 47-year-old with passports practically spilling out of his pockets, arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, presumably expecting a rousing round of duty-free shopping before hopping a plane to Russia.

But no: authorities were onto him, all thanks to his alleged starring role in an epic American crypto fiasco. Back in 2022, somebody siphoned off millions from Nomad, a blockchain start-up in California. By “somebody,” I mean, according to the U.S., our friend Alexander. It all reads like a cybercrime version of “Dumb and Dumber.” Allegedly, Gurevich poked around an obscure part of Nomad’s system, slipped out $2.89 million in crypto tokens, and treated himself to… almost immediate regret.

Here’s where the plot gets especially gripping: Gurevich couldn’t keep his mouth shut and went straight to Nomad’s CTO on Telegram, confessed to some “amateurish” hacking, and apologized for “all the fuss.” 🍿 If that doesn’t scream international cyber villain, what does?

He sort of returned $162,000—out of pure remorse, or to look less like a Bond villain, who can say? Except, he also wanted a $500,000 pat on the back for his trouble, arguing that he should get paid for pointing out the bug he’d just robbed. Genius, right?

Meanwhile, hackers everywhere noticed the same security flaw and yanked out another $186 million, presumably leaving Nomad’s IT department curled up in a dark corner. The FBI got involved. (This is America, after all—extra cheese on your pizza, and the Feds for any minor inconvenience.)

In a flurry of impressive administrative hustle, Gurevich changed his name and somehow got a shiny new passport in 24 hours—proving Israeli bureaucracy can, in fact, go at lightspeed if the incentive is strong. But his last-minute dash for a flight ended with airport security rather than jet engines. He graced an Israeli courtroom in handcuffs, looking remarkably less suave than any crypto kingpin you’ve seen in movies.

The extradition paperwork circus began in earnest—with the local Justice Minister getting involved just to keep everyone on the edge of their seat. Between changing countries, names, and legal teams faster than most people change socks, Alexander’s global escapades make Carmen Sandiego look like an amateur tourist.

He’s now a guest of the Israeli legal system while America waits, breathing heavily, to collect their hacker. And as Gurevich sits in custody, represented by an overworked public defender, you can almost hear the keyboards clicking, the extradition forms flying, and Nomad investors everywhere triple-checking their passwords. 🔐

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2025-05-03 20:57