Florida man charged in alleged crypto theft tied to game malware
Federal officials say Zyaire Wilkins and others used malware-laced games to access crypto wallets and steal at least $220,000.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
Federal authorities have arrested a 21-year-old Florida man in an alleged scheme that used malware hidden in video games to steal cryptocurrency. A federal complaint says victims lost at least $220,000 after the games infected thousands of devices and exposed crypto wallets.
Zyaire Wilkins was arrested July 14 and charged with conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain, according to the complaint. Local10 first reported the arrest and the allegations against Wilkins.
What prosecutors allege
The complaint accuses Wilkins and unnamed co-conspirators of releasing eight games containing malware between about May 2024 and February 2026. Federal officials allege the operation infected about 8,000 devices and gave the group access to 80 cryptocurrency wallets.
The complaint does not state that the games were uploaded to Steam. Local10 reported that an FBI request for victim information is tied to a “Steam malware investigation” and lists several of the same games named in the court filing.
Those titles include BlockBlasters, Chemia, Dashverse/DashFPS, Lampy, Lunara, PirateFi and Tokenova, according to the FBI notice cited by Local10. The case was filed in federal court in Washington, where Steam owner Valve is based, according to the complaint and Local10’s reporting.
How the games were promoted
Federal officials allege the group promoted the infected games on social and messaging services, including Discord, Telegram, X, formerly Twitter, and LinkedIn. The complaint says the group encouraged people to download the games, then used the malware to collect private information and empty crypto wallets.
Some of the named games had drawn attention before the arrest. Several outlets reported last year that Steam removed some crypto-stealing games, including BlockBlasters. The Verge previously reported that BlockBlasters was linked to more than $150,000 in losses, including money taken from a streamer who was raising funds for cancer treatment.
According to the complaint, investigators connected Wilkins to the alleged scheme through a cryptocurrency wallet address found in messages with an alleged co-conspirator. Federal agents traced that address to a Bitrefill account, the complaint says.
Bitrefill allows customers to buy gift cards with cryptocurrency, according to the complaint. Investigators say the account connected to Wilkins bought more than 150 gift cards, including Uber Eats cards, which helped authorities identify a phone number and later an address.
The complaint says Wilkins is accused of participating in the conspiracy, not that he has been convicted. Valve did not immediately respond to a request for comment, The Verge reported.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.