'Fortnite' Latest News & Update: Pedophilia & Money Laundering Scandal Infects Battle Royale Game

Video games and pedophilia getting tangled together is nothing new, with many multiplayer online games featuring predators trying to lure young players for sexual reasons. However, when it is done with a game as popular and as youth-centric as “Fortnite,” the implications can be significantly worse. This is what a 41-year-old man was arrested for and with recent money laundering report involving V-Bucks, it seems Epic has a lot to contend with.

As Comic Book reports, Florida man Anthony Gene Thomas was recently arrested over accusations that he had sex with minors. It would appear that Thomas also had an accomplice who supposedly lured in minors through “Fortnite.” After making contact with the young targets, the accomplice would essentially condition the children to prepare them for sex with the suspect.

It is suspected that Thomas’s victim's number as high as 20 and police are encouraging the other victims to step forward. This is a far cry from the fun and colorful stories that most people have come to associate with “Fortnite,” but it is about to get worse. This is because there have been recent reports that V-Bucks are being used by criminals to launder money.

The practice reportedly involves stolen credits cards that are used to purchase the virtual currency used in “Fortnite.” The V-Bucks are then used to produce clean money by sending them to players. Even with the discount, the amount gained is still significant, especially considering that the credit cards used were stolen.

As might be expected, these kinds of transactions are supposedly quite popular in the Dark Web. It would seem that aside from cryptocurrency, cybercriminals are now using the popularity of “Fortnite” to conduct their misdeeds. If Epic isn’t careful, its game might attract the attention of the various alphabet agencies that look into criminal activities. This could spell tragedy for the game.