An Australian cybercrime police officer, William Wheatley, faces accusations of stealing 81.616 Bitcoin during a steroid trafficking investigation in Melbourne. According to court documents, Wheatley allegedly appropriated a Trezor hardware wallet containing the Bitcoins, valued at approximately $450,000 at the time. He also faces two additional charges related to handling property suspected to be the proceeds of crime and using information for personal gain.
The former Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity first charged Wheatley in December 2022. The allegations stem from Wheatley’s involvement in a raid in 2019, part of Operation Viridian, where large quantities of steroid-type substances were uncovered, along with the Trezor crypto wallet.
Detective Sergeant Deon Achtypis of the Australian Cyber Crime Squad stated that investigators obtained permission to access the wallet three weeks after the raid. However, they discovered it empty on January 29, with the cybercrime unit later tracing an IP address associated with the Australian Federal Police headquarters in connection with the movement of the cryptocurrency.
An investigation by the law commission targeted five cybercrime officers suspected of involvement in draining the wallet, ultimately tracing withdrawals to Wheatley’s bank account between 2019 and September 2022.
Appearing before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, Wheatley denied all allegations against him, pleading not guilty to stealing cryptocurrencies from the Trezor wallet during the investigation. His lawyer, Luke Barker, argued that the case against Wheatley is circumstantial.
The County Court has scheduled the next hearing for March.