U.S. Department of Justice

1 days agoNews Editor

Two Texas men sentenced over armed kidnapping and $8 million crypto extortion case

Two Texas men, Raymond Christian Garcia and Isiah Angelo Garcia, have been sentenced after pleading guilty in a kidnapping and crypto extortion case tied to an incident in Minnesota, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement. The pair received prison terms of 180 months and 186 months, respectively. They had entered guilty pleas in June 2026, and sentencing was handed down on Oct. 29. Court documents said the two men broke into a family home in Minnesota on Sept. 19, 2025, tied up family members with zip ties, and held them at gunpoint for more than nine hours while forcing the victim to hand over access to cryptocurrency accounts. When the amount transferred fell short of what they wanted, they allegedly forced the victim to drive to a cabin in northern Minnesota to retrieve additional crypto storage devices and complete more transfers. Authorities said the victim was ultimately forced to transfer more than $8 million in cryptocurrency. The suspects fled after the victim’s son called 911 and were later arrested near Houston, Texas.

80

France

1 months agoNews Editor

French Couple Robbed at Gunpoint for Crypto; 77 Kidnapping Cases in H1 2026

A French couple was bound and threatened by armed assailants demanding cryptocurrency, who fled before police arrived. France recorded 77 crypto-related kidnapping and extortion cases in the first half of 2026, surpassing the 2025 total. Authorities have arrested around 200 people and are boosting international cooperation.

580

France

1 months agoNews Editor

Three suspects arrested after crypto-linked home extortion attack near Montpellier

A resident of Saint-Jean-de-Védas, near Montpellier in southern France, was targeted in a home extortion attack linked to cryptocurrency, according to a report by Fabien Arnaud of French media outlet Midi Libre. Police moved quickly after the incident and arrested three suspects. The report also said the victim had already faced a similar violent extortion attempt tied to cryptocurrency on April 11 this year. The case adds to a string of criminal incidents in which digital asset holders or people perceived to hold crypto become direct targets of violence or coercion. No further details on the suspects, the assets involved, or the exact circumstances of the attack were disclosed in the brief report cited by ChainCatcher.

670

Policy Regulation

1 months agoNews Editor

Former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy gets 21 months in prison over crypto-linked extortion case

Former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy Eric Saavedra has been sentenced to 21 months in prison, according to ChainCatcher. The court found that Saavedra used a law enforcement database to help a cryptocurrency trader carry out an extortion scheme. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to pay $90,984 in restitution. The matter also involved $373,146 in income that he concealed from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The case ties misuse of official law enforcement resources to a scheme involving a crypto market participant, with the court imposing both custodial punishment and financial penalties.

560

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

1 months agoNews Editor

Former Los Angeles County deputy sentenced to 21 months over extortion scheme tied to crypto trader

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Eric Saavedra has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after using a law enforcement database to help a crypto businessman carry out an extortion scheme, according to Odaily. Separately, Saavedra was also ordered to pay $91,000 in restitution after concealing $373,100 in income from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The case links misuse of official law enforcement resources with a criminal scheme involving a crypto-related figure, while the financial penalty addresses the undisclosed income cited in the report.

650

Revolut

1 months agoNews Editor

Revolut data leak escalates into extortion as attackers threaten daily releases

Revolut is facing a more serious fallout from its recent data disclosure incident after attackers claiming to hold customer files said they are now extorting the company and may publish more records every day if payment is not made. City AM reported on Sept. 14 that a group calling itself "Revolut Smilik" confirmed it was demanding money from Revolut and issued the threat through Telegram. The development follows earlier reports that Revolut had been tricked by a fraudulent data request sent from an email account located within a real government domain, leading the company to hand over customer information to unauthorized parties. According to reporting cited in the source material, the exposed data may include passports or driver’s license copies, identity verification selfies, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, account statements, IBAN details, withdrawal records and full transaction histories, with some records potentially covering Bitcoin transactions. Revolut told Reuters that only a "very limited" number of customers were affected and said its systems and customer funds were not breached. The company has not disclosed how many users were impacted, whether it will respond to the extortion demand, the name of the government entity whose infrastructure was abused, or the amount of ransom being sought. The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office said it has received a report and is assessing the material.

1480

Crypto Fraud

1 months agoNews Editor

Malone Lam Pleads Guilty in $245 Million Crypto Fraud Case

Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean man also known as Greavys, pleaded guilty on Sept. 8 in federal court in Washington, D.C., to a federal conspiracy charge involving extortion. Prosecutors say the case involves $245 million in stolen cryptocurrency. Lam allegedly organized a cross-border social engineering network that used fake customer-support schemes, database intrusions and hardware-wallet thefts to obtain victims’ crypto assets. The U.S. Department of Justice said the group had been operating since at least October 2023. Its members allegedly gathered victim information through social engineering and occasional home burglaries before transferring the cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the stolen funds were spent on luxury cars, high-end watches, private jet rentals and nightclub expenses, with spending at one club reaching as much as $500,000 in a single night. Co-defendant Evan Tangeman was sentenced to 70 months in prison for money laundering in April this year. Lam faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8.

1070

Berlin

1 months agoNews Editor

Berlin State Government Refuses 30 BTC Ransom; Hackers Leak 5.7TB of Stolen Data

The Berlin state government has refused to pay a 30 Bitcoin ransom (approximately $2.4 million) demanded by the Rhysida ransomware group, after which the hackers published 5.7TB of stolen data on the dark web. The attack was discovered on August 14, isolating the networks of two senate departments and disrupting services like housing subsidies and family support. The ransom deadline of September 4 passed without payment, leading to the data leak. Berlin's Chief Digital Officer Florian Hauer stated the city would not yield to extortion. Rhysida has been active since 2023 and auctioned the data with a starting bid of 30 BTC. Data shows on-chain ransomware payments dropped about 8% in 2025 while reported attacks rose 50%. Berlin has not yet quantified the financial damage.

1310

Total 18 items

Go topage

Bit.Fan