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Criminals are focusing more on those who own digital assets as cryptocurrencies gain popularity. In a startling kidnapping case in Chicago, six men are accused of kidnapping a family and demanding $15 million in bitcoin, according to recently released documents.
The victims’ house was allegedly overrun by the accused, Fan Zhang, Huajing Yan, Shengnan Jiang, Shiqiang Lian, Ye Cao, and Zehuan Wei. They seized the family with weapons and sent out a grim warning on WeChat that they would be killed if they didn’t pay. To further illustrate their violent methods, the suspects even kidnapped a boy right out of the shower.
The kidnappers insisted on receiving the ransom in Bitcoin or Ethereum, two of the most widely used cryptocurrencies. They appeared to know the son held significant crypto assets, pressuring him to facilitate the transactions. Ultimately, the criminals moved $15 million from the family’s wallets, though $9 million remains unaccounted for.
Authorities arrested Zehuan Wei in California in January, and he has already appeared in court. Investigators continue searching for the missing funds and tracking the other suspects.
The tendency of criminals targeting bitcoin holders is concerning, and this case is part of it. David Balland, a co-founder of Ledger, was abducted in France in January, and before authorities could free him, his assailants chopped off one of his fingers.
Remy St. Felix, a Florida man, was also found guilty in June of being the head of a group that broke into houses and forced cryptocurrency users to empty their wallets.
Fighting crimes involving cryptocurrency is getting more difficult for law enforcement as digital assets make up a larger portion of global finance.