A 24-year-old man from Florida has been convicted for carrying out a cryptocurrency theft scheme, including kidnapping and assault.
In a new press release, the US Department of Justice stated that Remy Saint-Felix from West Palm Beach was the mastermind behind a home invasion theft ring targeting cryptocurrency owners from September 2022 to July 2023 across multiple states.
According to the Department of Justice, Saint-Felix and his crew would break into homes, kidnap victims, and force them to access and deplete their cryptocurrency wallets. To accomplish this, Saint-Felix and his accomplices would hack into the targets’ email accounts and conduct physical surveillance in advance.
After stealing the funds, they would use privacy-enhanced digital assets for money laundering, such as Monero (XMR), decentralized exchanges (DEX) platforms without Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, and “instant exchanges.”
As Nicole M. Argentieri, the Criminal Division Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General, stated,
“Saint-Felix and his co-conspirators targeted victims across the United States, carrying out brutal home invasions, kidnappings, and robberies to steal cryptocurrency. Despite the members of this violent conspiracy attempting to conceal their tracks through encrypted communications and anonymous financial transactions, they did not elude the reach of our dedicated investigators and prosecutors.”
In one instance, in April 2023, Saint-Felix and another individual broke into someone’s home, tied them up with zip ties, held them at gunpoint, and threatened the victims and their spouse while stealing $150,000 worth of cryptocurrency from them.
According to the Department of Justice, Saint-Felix was arrested in July 2023 as he was preparing for another home invasion. He was convicted on nine charges and could face a minimum of seven years imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Don’t miss a beat – subscribe for email alerts straight to your inbox.
Check out price action.
Follow us on X, Facebook, and Telegram.
Surf The Daily Hodl Mix.
Generated image: DALLE3.
