A Florida man has been convicted in the United States for orchestrating an international scheme that involved violent home invasions aimed at stealing cryptocurrency. The operation targeted victims throughout the country, who were kidnapped and assaulted to gain access to their cryptocurrency accounts. The defendant is facing a minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum of life in prison.
Crypto Theft Mastermind Convicted in US for Home Invasions, Kidnappings, and Robberies
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Man Convicted for Leading Violent Cryptocurrency Heist Ring
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Office of Public Affairs announced on Tuesday that a federal jury in Greensboro, North Carolina, has convicted a Florida man for “his lead role in an international conspiracy to break into U.S. citizens’ homes, violently kidnap and assault them, and steal their bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.”
The Justice Department explained that Remy St. Felix, 24, of West Palm Beach, was the leader of a robbery crew targeting cryptocurrency owners through violent home invasions between September 2022 and July 2023. St. Felix planned and orchestrated robberies in Durham, North Carolina; Florida; Texas; and New York, where victims were kidnapped in their homes and forced to access and drain their cryptocurrency accounts.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division detailed:
St Felix and his co-conspirators targeted victims across the United States for brutal home invasions, kidnappings, and robberies in order to steal cryptocurrency.
In one incident in April 2023, St. Felix and a co-conspirator forced their way into a victim’s home. “There, St Felix and his co-conspirator assaulted, zip-tied, and held the victim at gunpoint, and threatened more violence against the victim and the victim’s spouse, while other co-conspirators transferred more than $150,000 in cryptocurrency from the victim’s account,” the DOJ described.
Evidence presented at trial showed that St. Felix and his associates gained unauthorized access to their targets’ email accounts and conducted physical surveillance before the home invasions. They laundered the stolen funds through anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies like Monero, as well as through instant exchanges and decentralized finance platforms that lacked know-your-customer (KYC) checks.
The FBI arrested St. Felix in July 2023 as he was on his way to commit a home invasion in New York. Thirteen co-conspirators, including members of his robbery crew, were also arrested and later pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. St. Felix was convicted of nine counts, including conspiracy, kidnapping, Hobbs Act robbery, wire fraud, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence. He is scheduled for sentencing on September 11 and faces a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
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