Ex-Microsoft engineer convicted of stealing millions in digital currency for lavish purchases

An ex-Microsoft engineer will be sent to jail after his lavish “house of lies” came tumbling down when he stole from the company.

A former Microsoft employee was convicted on Tuesday of wire fraud and other charges for stealing millions in gift cards and digital currency from the company then reselling the items to fund a $US1.7 million ($A2.6 million) lakefront home and a $US160,000 ($A244,000) Tesla.

Volodymyr Kvashuk, a 25-year-old Ukrainian citizen, helped test Microsoft’s online retail sales platform, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Seattle.

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Media reported this was the lakefront house in question.

Local newspaper the Renton Reporter identified the lakefront home using county records.

Kvashuk was accused of stealing digital currency such as gift cards that could be redeemed for Microsoft products, then reselling them on the internet. He then used the proceeds to buy a $160,000 Tesla vehicle and a $1.7 million lakefront home.

Microsoft confronted Kvashuk about the incidents after the scheme came to light and fired him in June 2018.

“Kvashuk, a knowledgeable software developer, attempted to mask digital evidence that would trace the fraud and the internet sales back to him,” prosecutors said. “He used a bitcoin ‘mixing’ service in an attempt to hide the source of the funds ultimately passing into his bank account. In all, over the seven months of Kvashuk’s illegal activity, approximately $2.8 million ($A4.27 million) was transferred to his bank accounts.”

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Microsoft fired him in June 2018 when the theft came to light. Picture: Gerard Julien/AFP

He tried to claim he was working on a project to benefit the company, but assistant US lawyer Michael Dion told the jury that testimony was “a house of lies on top of a previous house of lies”.

Following a five-day trial in federal court, Kvashuk was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft, among other offences.

He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in June.

— with AP

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission