Zyaire Wilkins (Steam Malware Crypto Theft Ring)
Summary
Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, 21, of North Lauderdale, Florida, was arrested on July 14, 2026 and charged with conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain, a federal offense carrying up to 10 years imprisonment. Wilkins and at least one unnamed co-conspirator allegedly embedded information-stealing malware in eight fake video games distributed on Steam between May 2024 and February 2026, infecting approximately 8,000 computers and draining at least $220,000 from roughly 80 cryptocurrency wallets. Investigators linked Wilkins to the scheme via a chain of Bitcoin transactions, Bitrefill gift card purchases, Uber Eats delivery records, and Google account browser cookies.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(9 events)
2024-05-01
Alleged malware campaign begins. Wilkins and co-conspirators start uploading fake games to Steam containing information-stealing malware.
Federal criminal complaint via multiple media reports2025-02-06
PirateFi, one of the alleged malware-laced titles, is released on Steam by a publisher using the name Seaworth Interactive.
BleepingComputer2025-02-12
Valve removes PirateFi from Steam after security researchers identify it as deploying Vidar infostealer malware. Steam advises affected users to reinstall Windows.
BleepingComputer2026-02-01
Alleged malware campaign ends as the final infected games are removed from Steam.
Federal criminal complaint via multiple media reports2026-03-01
FBI Seattle field office publicly announces investigation into Steam-distributed malware, naming eight game titles and soliciting victim reports.
BleepingComputer2026-07-08
FBI executes a residential search warrant at Wilkins' North Lauderdale home, seizing digital devices and three cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases including one Monero wallet.
Local10 / CryptoSlate2026-07-14
Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins arrested by FBI in North Lauderdale, Florida.
Local10 / Decrypt2026-07-16
Wilkins makes his initial appearance in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Transfer to Seattle federal court pending.
Decrypt / Local102026-07-17
FBI arrest and charges publicly reported. Case identified as the first criminal charge arising from the FBI's broader Steam malware investigation.
TechCrunchDecision Log
- #1publish⛓ pending7/30/2026, 12:10:53 PMhash: EaDPRmDuK2HUQCjRCx9hBZcwgmCqCks4WqJQiZ6MM6Gv
11 of 14 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 7/30/2026, 12:10:45 PM
last updated: 7/30/2026, 12:51:11 PM
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