Bombshell Report Reveals Wild History of One Elon Musk’s DOGE Staffers Who Now Has Access to Treasury Data
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As Elon Musk’s DOGE staff continued to gain control over various parts of the federal government this week, raising alarm among many observers and critics, Wired Magazine published an in-depth look at the youngest staff member. The bombshell report looked at the work history of Edward Coristine, who is 19 years old and goes by the nickname “Big Balls.”
Wired’s Andy Greenberg, David Gilbert, and Lily Hay Newman shared the byline on the report which notes that Coristine’s “professional and online history call into question whether he would pass the background check typically required to obtain security clearances, security experts tell WIRED.”
Coristine, who has since deleted his LinkedIn profile, reportedly started over five different companies in the last four years and never attended college. The Wired report adds:
Coristine also briefly worked in 2022 at Path Network, a network monitoring firm known for hiring reformed blackhat hackers. Someone using a Telegram handle tied to Coristine also solicited a cyberattack-for-hire service later that year.
Musk gained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payments system, which critics feared means his team was able to access not only the federal government’s funds, but also the personal data of everyday Americans. CBS reported on the “alarm raised” by Democrats and other groups over the news:
Musk’s access to the Treasury payment system has sparked concern from Democratic lawmakers including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, while a lawsuit was filed on Monday alleging “unlawful ongoing, systematic, and continuous disclosure of personal and financial information” to Musk and DOGE.
Wired also found that one of Coristine’s companies operated a website in Russia. “One of the companies Coristine founded, Tesla.Sexy LLC, was set up in 2021, when he would have been around 16 years old. Coristine is listed as the founder and CEO of the company, according to business records reviewed by WIRED,” noted the report, adding:
Tesla.Sexy LLC controls dozens of web domains, including at least two Russian-registered domains. One of those domains, which is still active, offers a service called Helfie, which is an AI bot for Discord servers targeting the Russian market. While the operation of a Russian website would not violate US sanctions preventing Americans doing business with Russian companies, it could potentially be a factor in a security clearance review.
Musk, whose companies have received billions in federal subsidies and contracts, has received a top-secret security clearance, reported CNN this week.
Another of Musk’s DOGE staffers resigned on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal asked the White House about some of his past posts on X. The WSJ reported that 25-year-old employee, Marko Elez, “who was embedded in the Treasury Department to carry out efficiency measures, advocated repealing the Civil Rights Act and backed a “eugenic immigration policy” in the weeks before President Trump was inaugurated” on his since-deleted profile.
Read the full Wired report here.
