US DOJ Sentences 12 For Cryptocurrency Theft In Violent Home Invasions

According to Odaily, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the sentencing of 12 individuals involved in a series of violent home invasions aimed at stealing cryptocurrency. Remy Ra St Felix from West Palm Beach, Florida, who led the operation, received a 47-year prison sentence. The crimes involved the theft of over $3.5 million in digital assets. The convicted individuals included several criminals responsible for planning and executing the robberies, which spanned multiple states. Court records reveal that St Felix and his accomplices used SIM card swapping to take control of victims' phone numbers, thereby gaining access to their cryptocurrency accounts. Once they had control of these accounts, they conducted home invasions, binding and threatening victims with firearms to obtain access to computers and cryptocurrency trading accounts, facilitating the theft of digital currencies. The DOJ added that the conspirators laundered the stolen funds through anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies, 'instant exchanges,' and decentralized exchanges (DEX) that do not require Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. One of the main accomplices, Seemungal, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $4,038,479.39 in restitution. Seemungal pleaded guilty on December 19, 2023, to charges of hacking victims' cryptocurrency accounts and committing home invasions. A total of nine co-conspirators received long-term prison sentences for conspiracy to kidnap, while other key participants were penalized for their involvement.