- A Florida man has been sentenced to 47 years in prison for stealing bitcoin
- The man was the leader of a gang physically terrorizing bitcoins and crypto holders in Florida
- The gang also used SIM-swapping techniques to acquire BTC and other cryptocurrencies illegally
25-year-old Remy St Felix from Florida has been sentenced to 47 years in prison for leading a gang of 13 people to steal bitcoin through home invasions. The gang stole over $3 million between September 2022 and July 2023 and used decentralized protocols to launder the proceeds. Felix was ordered to pay $524,000 in restitution and his co-conspirators were also ordered to pay varying amounts covering almost all the funds that were stolen in the scheme, something that increases the success of law enforcement agencies in tracking cryptocurrency thefts.
Other Gang Members Sentenced
According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the gang used zip ties and guns to bind and scare their victims. Other members of the gang were sentenced to between 5 and 20 years in prison and ordered to pay between $300,000 and $4 million in restitution.
One co-conspirator, Jesus Manuel Santiago, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1. Felix was convicted in June and found guilty on multiple counts including wire fraud and kidnapping. It’s, however, unclear how Felix and his group obtained information about their victim’s crypto holding.
Using Unorthodox Means to Evade Arrest
Felix’s sentencing comes as scammers increase targeting victims on social media platforms, a tactic that Felix may have used to profile crypto holders. It also comes three weeks after a crypto scammer was arrested in South Korea despite conducting plastic surgery to mask his physical identity.
It also comes a month after Chainalysis predicted that centralized crypto exchange hacks are bound to increase.
With Felix’s gang convicted and sentenced, law enforcement agencies continue to get insights on how to handle cryptocurrency thefts.
