Los Angeles resident Amir Hossein Golshan pleaded guilty to committing various cyber crimes between 2019 and 2023. The charges described his involvement in Zelle payment fraud, Apple support impersonation, and account takeovers.

Authorities estimate that Golshan’s exploits caused over $740,000 in damages to his victims. Golshan also took over an Instagram account with over 100,000 followers after engaging in SIM swapping in 2021. He used the account to contact the influencer’s friends and demand thousands of dollars via Zelle and PayPal. Golshan admitted to holding this specific account as well as two others hostage in exchange for ransom payments from the victims. In total, Golshan targeted 500 individuals in SIM swapping schemes and received about $82,000 in payments. He also impersonated Apple support to gain access to victims’ digital assets and cryptocurrency wallets, which allowed him to steal between $2,000 and $389,000 from five different victims. Golshan now faces sentencing for computer access and wire fraud counts, possibly carrying sentences of five and 20 years respectively.

Read More: