Update 26 June, 12:20 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include quotes from Bing Wang, Head of Legal at BasedVC
A federal jury in Greensboro, North Carolina, has convicted Remy St. Felix, 24, of West Palm Beach, Florida, of leading multiple violent home invasions aimed at stealing victims’ cryptocurrencies.
St. Felix faced nine counts, including conspiracy, kidnapping, Hobbs Act robbery, wire fraud and brandishing a firearm to help carry out his crypto-targeted crimes.
The conviction of St. Felix on June 25 followed a trial that exposed his leadership position in an international conspiracy to target United States citizens for their crypto assets.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Sandra Hairstone, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, stated:
“The victims in this case suffered a horrible, painful experience that no citizen should have to endure [...] The defendant and his co-conspirators acted purely out of greed and callously terrorized those they targeted.”
Related: Nigeria rejects claims of poor prison conditions, health for Binance exec
FBI investigation uncovers multistate crypto crimes
Court documents and trial evidence show that St. Felix and his conspirators carried out home invasions across multiple states, including North Carolina, Florida, Texas and New York.
Between December 2022 to July 2023, the crime gang used physical violence, kidnapping and threats to intimidate their victims, forcing them to access and transfer their crypto holdings to the perpetrators.
One notable incident occurred on April 12, 2023, when St. Felix and his accomplice, Elmer Ruben Castro, forcibly entered a home, zip-tied their victims and demanded access to their crypto accounts.
Related: FCA busts suspects in $1.2B illegal crypto asset business
Investigative efforts
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Charlotte Field Office led the investigation, assisted by several other field offices and local police departments.
They discovered that St. Felix and his accomplices had covered up their tracks using sophisticated money-laundering techniques and encrypted communication.
Related: Fake ID crypto exchange sign-ups attract 2-year prison sentence
However, investigators connected the crime gang’s activities, arrested the criminals and held them accountable.
Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch said:
“We are proud of the work that led to today’s conviction, which should act as a warning to others looking to participate in similar activity that we will not stop until you face the consequences of your actions.”
Crypto crimes on the rise
Speaking with Cointelegraph, Bing Wang, Head of Legal at BasedVC spoke about the rise in cryptocurrency-based crimes:
It’s not hard to understand the rise in crypto-crime that’s increasingly prevalent these days. Crypto is an easy target because the assets are digital and are not held inside a bank, and because of the belief that the blockchain is anonymous and that laundering crypto is simple."
Wang explained that, due to blockchain’s transparent nature, law enforcement agencies have “developed methods for tracking stolen crypto” and locating the perpetrators behind the crime.
Magazine: Crypto game rewards not ‘crucial,’ Farmville creator makes case for beta releases: Web3 Gamer