Florida man arrested in video-game malware crypto theft

A federal complaint alleges that Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, 21, of North Lauderdale, Florida, embedded information-stealing malware in eight video games between May 2024 and February 2026. The malware is said to have infected about 8,000 devices, given access to roughly 80 cryptocurrency wallets and resulted in at least $220,000 in thefts. Wilkins was arrested and charged with conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain, a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison.

The complaint names PirateFi, BlockBlasters, Dashverse and Lunara among the infected titles. The filing describes the group marketing the games on Discord, Telegram, X and LinkedIn, using automated bots to identify users with large crypto holdings and encouraging them to download the infected software.

After installation, the malware harvested private data and login credentials that investigators reviewed for anything that could unlock crypto accounts. The complaint describes Wilkins communicating with an unidentified developer over Signal and discussing draining campaigns and tactics to trick users into approving transactions that emptied wallets. The filing also states Wilkins bought a remote access trojan for about $10,000 to support the operation.

Investigators traced some proceeds through Bitcoin transactions to Bitrefill, where the cryptocurrency was spent on more than 150 gift cards, mostly for Uber Eats. A subpoena linked deliveries paid with those cards to Wilkins’ home and to addresses he used while attending the University of West Florida. Agents who searched his North Lauderdale residence seized multiple devices and three wallet seed phrases, including one for Monero, a privacy-focused coin that is harder to trace. Records reviewed in the investigation show about $382,000 moved in and out of accounts tied to him.

The FBI’s Seattle field office issued a public warning in March after finding malicious titles approved for sale on the platform, highlighting the growing overlap between cybersecurity incidents and gaming industry news. PirateFi drew roughly 7,000 players before it was removed and affected users were advised to reformat their machines. The complaint connects BlockBlasters to several large individual losses, including a streamer who lost more than $31,000 in Solana after downloading an infected game.

Wilkins made his initial federal appearance in Fort Lauderdale. The case will be prosecuted in Seattle; no transfer date has been set. Prosecutors have not disclosed whether others have been charged.