- The criminals pretended to be construction workers
- They forced the victims to transfer funds from Coinbase account
Two armed men held an elderly North Carolina couple hostage in their home and stole crypto worth more than $156,000 after threatening to “cut off (the) husband’s toes and genitalia, to shoot him, and to rape his wife,” NBC News reported, citing federal prosecutors.
Remy Ra St. Felix and Elmer Ruben Castro pretended to be construction workers when they visited the couple’s home and claimed they had to inspect their pipes. They told the couple they would walk around their property to look for problems. Then, they knocked on the door again, this time forcing their way in when the wife answered.
A planned attack
According to prosecutors, the men had come up from Florida and had been watching the home for three days before invading it.
Armed with firearms, Castro and St. Felix restrained the wife and made the husband go into his home office and log into his Coinbase cryptocurrency account.
Reportedly, Felix called a third person, who told him how to transfer the funds out of the crypto account. This led prosecutors to believe that the Coinbase account had been compromised before.
Funds were stolen in under an hour
The criminals stole the funds in three tranches over the next 45 minutes. Coinbase flagged and denied the fourth transaction attempt.
Before they left, the criminals smashed the couple’s phones and computers and locked the husband and wife in the bathroom. They were able to get out and find help. Their injuries are minor.
Prosecutors have obtained phone records showing three men planning the robbery. They also have the husband’s personal data, including a picture of his driver’s license and license plate number.
St. Felix has been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Prosecutors have not listed a criminal complaint for Castro. Law enforcement issued arrest warrants on Thursday.
