In Las Vegas, two teenagers under the age of 17 committed a brutal kidnapping of a man, threatening him with a gun. They managed to seize crypto assets and NFTs worth a total of $4 million. They have been charged with 11 criminal offenses.
This is reported by Finway
The abductors were two 16-year-old boys from Florida, who, according to the investigation, acted in concert with a third participant currently outside the United States. The incident occurred in November 2024 during a business event in Las Vegas.
Details of the Kidnapping
According to the investigation, the teenagers, while brandishing a weapon, forced the man to get into a car and took him to the Arizona desert. There, they demanded the passwords to his crypto wallets and NFT storage.
“The victim was told that if he complied, he would live to see the next day, but if not, they would capture his father and kill him. A towel was thrown over his head, and the suspects told the man not to look at them.”
Fortunately, the victim managed to escape, walking several miles to the nearest gas station, where he called for help. According to law enforcement, the teenagers were assisted by an adult accomplice who provided them with instructions via radio.
Legal Consequences and Rising Crime
The two teenagers have been charged with 11 criminal counts, including kidnapping, armed robbery, and extortion. One of the criminals hired the well-known attorney Ross Goodman, while the other was assigned a public defender.
Experts note that the rise in crimes against digital asset owners is causing serious concern. In January 2025, the co-founder of Ledger was kidnapped in France, and in February, a family was taken hostage in Chicago for a $15 million ransom in cryptocurrency. There were also earlier reports of the kidnapping of WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka in downtown Toronto for a $1 million ransom.