> Somebody with the ability to pull off such a sophisticated attack would surely be above a low-income bitcoin scam. Personally, I think the scam is a mere cover-up for something much darker.

This. These bitcoin-type scams have around for ages and people are getting used to them. With this much power (aka number of accounts) why bother with such a low effort con. Though I don't like this talk as it fuels pointless conspiracy.