Indicted British malware researcher Marcus Hutchins is set to be released on $30,000 bail today, with prosecutors claiming he confessed without a lawyer to developing the Kronos banking malware.
The 23-year-old from Ilfracombe, Devon, is facing six charges of creating and distributing the infamous Trojan, and was arrested just before boarding a plane back from Las Vegas, where he had attended the Black Hat and Def Con hacking conferences.
Family and supporters are said to have raised the $30,000 bail on Friday only to be confounded by a bail office which shut at 4pm, meaning he spent the weekend behind bars.
According to defense attorney, Adrian Lobo, he will now likely fly straight to Wisconsin, where he’s due in court on Tuesday.
“He’s dedicated his life to researching malware not trying to harm people,” she told reporters on Friday. “Use the internet for good is what he’s done.”
Despite the Feds’ argument that he sold and profited from the malware, Hutchins pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors also tried to keep him in jail under federal gun laws after discovering that Hutchins had been to a local tourist spot where foreigners are allowed to shoot guns. Lobo described those allegations to reporters as “garbage”.
“He is completely shocked. This isn’t something he anticipated,” she continued. “He came here for a work-related conference and he was fully anticipating to go back home and had no reason to be fearful of coming or going from the United States."
However, prosecutors claim to have caught him out in a sting operation when officers bought code for him back in 2015 for $2000 worth of crypto-currency, according to the BBC.
There are apparently chat logs of Hutchins and an as-yet-unnamed co-defendant where the former complained of not receiving enough money for the sale.
Supporters have leapt to the defense of the 23-year-old Brit, who goes by the handle “MalwareTech”, with district judge, Nancy Koppe, presented with letters of support in a bid to sway her bail decision.