Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has come out to complain about harassment targeted at him by the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) of the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to his post on X, the blockchain investigator alleged that he is now a target of what he calls ‘borderline harassment’ as the agency continues to seek his assistance in blockchain investigations.
ZachXBT complains of borderline harassment
In his post on X, ZachXBT noted that he has always been cooperative in helping them with several blockchain-related cases. However, he believes that the law enforcement agency has been overstepping its boundaries into his personal space as they seek his help with solving crimes.
ZachXBT claimed that representatives of the agency have shown up to his address in real life, contacted some of his old associates, and sent him emails at his address.
He clarified that they have continually done these things despite having public methods of contacting him. “I have always been willing to support victims of scams with documentation needed by law enforcement to aid cases but if you overstep personal boundaries why would I want to assist you?”, he said.
IRS’s strategic partnership with blockchain investigators
In one of the emails posted by ZachXBT, a special agent from the IRS was praising him for his impressive work while noting that he needed his help. The IRS special agent noted in the email that he has been a fan of his impressive work, admitting that he has a skill that is rare in the blockchain industry. “I’ve been an IRS-CI special agent for a while, but I’m pretty new to the crypto/cyber arena and I was hoping you could give me a sense of what I should be looking at if I wanted to make the biggest impact.”, the other part of the email read.
ZachXBT regards this multiple means of trying to contact him as a clear disregard for any professionalism. This outcry is coming off the back of the blockchain investigator’s refusal to offer his help to holders of the SIMPLE memecoin after the project was abruptly shut down by its developers on April 4. He noted that he doesn’t like spending a long time helping traders who willingly gamble on vaporware memecoins compared to the actual victims.
The IRS has been forging partnerships with firms and individuals in the blockchain investigative field for a while now. In May 2023, the IRS-CI Chief Jim Lee lauded its partnership with analysis firm Chainalysis. He said that the relationship between the platform and the agency has become very valuable. Lee noted that the agency would not be able to carry out blockchain investigations with ease without the help of the firm.
