Uber Exec Denies Bitcoin Hush Money Charges

A spokesperson claims “there is no merit” to allegations against former Uber Chief Security Officer Joseph Sullivan, who is now facing charges of obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) alleges Sullivan tried to conceal the theft of private information for roughly 57 million users in a hack of Uber. It accused Sullivan of taking “deliberate steps to conceal, deflect, and mislead” the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by funneling a hush money payment of $100,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) through a bug bounty program.

But in a statement to Cointelegraph, communications strategist Bradford Williams claimed that had it not been for the efforts of Sullivan and his team at Uber, “it’s likely that the individuals responsible for this incident never would have been identified at all.”

“From the outset, Mr. Sullivan and his team collaborated closely with legal, communications and other relevant teams at Uber, in accordance with the company’s written policies,” Williams stated.

“Those policies made clear that Uber’s legal department — and not Mr. Sullivan or his group — was responsible for deciding whether, and to whom, the matter should be disclosed."

Two of the hackers involved in the Uber breach pleaded guilty to charges of computer fraud conspiracy in October and are now awaiting sentencing. Sullivan’s federal court appearance in the Northern District of California has not yet been scheduled.