PALM COAST, Fla. — A newly-released indictment gives details about how a 19-year-old from Palm Coast is accused of stealing $800,000 total from five separate victims.
The teen, Noah Michael Urban, is also known by several aliases, including "King Bob."
Thousands of users on social media have posted and shared Urban's mugshot, identifying him as a notorious music 'leaker,' who posted unreleased music from several artists under the social media username King Bob. Droves of X users connected Urban to leaks of tracks from Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti and Ariana Grande, including pop culture news site Hotist and several popular pop news accounts.
Urban is not facing any charges that appear to be related to stealing music at this time.
Urban, known by several aliases in addition to King Bob ('Sosa,' 'Elijah,' and 'Anthony Ramirez'), was arrested Tuesday. Jail logs show he was booked by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and charged with being a fugitive from justice.
Thursday, he was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft. Aggravated identity theft is different from regular identity theft because it means the accused stole someone's identity and then used that information while committing another crime.
The United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida says there is a chance the fraud began earlier, but Urban's alleged crimes were committed from at least August 2022 to March 2023. He is charged both with actual fraud and will conspiring to continue to defraud victims.
The indictment says Urban is charged with wire fraud conspiracy because he sought to "obtain personally identifying information" from additional victims and use it to access their cryptocurrency exchange accounts. The document also says Urban had fellow conspirators.
According to the indictment, Urban defrauded his victims "by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises." Furthermore, the indictment details each of the eight counts of wire fraud Urban is facing and how he used "wire communication" to execute his "scheme and artifice." The description for each count of wire fraud he's charged with, is provided below.
Wire fraud charges
- Count No. 2: On Oct. 30, 2022, Urban illegally accessed the email account of one victim from his computer
- Count No. 3: On Nov. 2, 2022, Urban transferred approximately 182.1991 Ethereum (worth approximately $294,797 at the time of the transaction) from the cryptocurrency exchange account belonging to the same victim listed in count No. 1, to an Exodus wallet stored on his computer
- Count No. 4: On Nov. 15, 2022, Urban illegally accessed the email account of a second victim from his computer
- Count No. 5: On Nov. 21, 2022, Urban transferred approximately 1.39 bitcoin (virtual currency worth approximately $21,952 at the time of the transaction) from the cryptocurrency exchange account of the second victim, to an Exodus wallet stored on his computer
- Count No. 6: On Dec. 1, 2022, Urban transferred approximately 2.199462 bitcoin (virtual currency worth approximately $37,742 at the time of the transaction) from a third victim, to an Exodus wallet stored on his computer
- Count No. 7: On Dec. 3, 2022, Urban transferred approximately 82.8784 Ethereum (worth approximately $107,230 at the time of the transaction) from the cryptocurrency exchange account of a fourth victim, to an Exodus wallet stored on his computer
- Count No. 8: On Dec. 3, 2022, Urban illegally accessed the email account of a fifth victim from his computer
- Count No. 9: On Feb. 16, 2023, Urban transferred approximately 219.2683 Ethereum (worth approximately $374,614 at the time of the transaction) from the cryptocurrency exchange account of the fifth victim, to an Exodus wallet stored on his computer
Aggravated identity theft charges
Urban faces five counts of an aggravated identity theft charge for "knowingly" transferring, possessing and using without lawful authority, "a means of identification" of each of his victims, according to the indictment. The document also indicates that he assisted others in transferring, possessing and unlawfully using the means of identification of his victims as well.
Here's the description provided for each count in the indictment:
- Count No. 10: On Oct. 30, 2022, Urban used his first victim's name and credentials to access their email account and virtual currency exchanges account
- Count No. 11: On Nov. 15, 2022, Urban used his second victim's name and credentials to access their email account and virtual currency exchanges account
- Count No. 12: On Dec. 1, 2022, Urban used his third victim's name and credentials to access their virtual currency exchanges account
- Count No. 13: On Dec. 3, 2022, Urban used his fourth victim's name and credentials to access their virtual currency exchanges account
- Count No. 14: On Dec. 3, 2022, Urban used his fifth victim's name and credentials to access their email account and virtual currency exchanges account
Urban could face up to 20 years in federal prison if he's convicted on wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud. He could also face two or more additional years for the aggravated identity theft charges.
Urban's arraignment is set for Jan. 16 at 3 p.m.
This case was a joint partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the United States Attorney’s Office District of Oregon, and the United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro.
