Three Florida teens kidnap Las Vegas man, drive him to Arizona desert, steal $4M in cryptocurrency

Last November, a man called police saying three young men kidnapped him at gunpoint, drove him to a remote desert area, and stole millions of dollars from him, documents said.

That night, the victim was hosting a cryptocurrency-related event at a business in Downtown Las Vegas, police said. The victim then returned to his apartment complex and parked his car. The three suspects then approached him and forced him into the back seat of their vehicle, police said.

“The victim was told if he complied, he would live to see another day, and if he did not comply, they had his dad and would kill him,” documents said. “The victim had a towel placed over his head and was told by the suspects not to look at them.”

The young men demanded the victim’s passwords and threatened him for access to his financial accounts, police said. It also appeared that another person was directly speaking to the young men through a phone call, which the victim could hear through a speakerphone.

Police suspect the three young men then drove the victim across the Nevada border to White Hills, Arizona — more than 70 miles and an hour’s drive from Las Vegas. The victim walked five miles alone in the desert to reach a gas station where he called a friend to pick him up, documents said.

Metro investigators later tracked a possible suspect vehicle traveling from Florida to Nevada, specifically including the locations of the victim’s apartment. In a separate vehicle stop in Mississippi, a gun involving a suspect’s family member matched one in one of the teenager’s social media profiles, police said.

The three teenagers were also involved in disturbances together at a Florida high school, police said.

I truly don't understand the crypto currency thing. What exactly is it? Real money? Stocks? Bonds? Internet money that can be used as real money?

I'm old and out of touch.

Okay. Robbery is bad. But if you’re going to do it—$4 million is an impressive haul.

r2 Like bearer bonds is my basic understanding of it

Kids nowdays.

They were only 16 at the time.

That's so crazy!!

Fucking asshole kids.

Ah, they grow up so fast these days! One day they're in elementary school - next thing you know they're committing armed robberies!

kidnapping crypto millionaires and their families seems to be a pretty growth industry.

This is why teenage boys need to be kept busy with extracurricular activities or part time jobs.

Lock those boys up in a prison weekend workhouse with Monday-Friday schooling until they graduate. They need to learn crime doesn't pay.

[quote]During a hearing Tuesday in Ashraf’s case, his attorney, Ross Goodman, argued for his client to serve house arrest. Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Noreen Demonte ordered Ashraf’s release with electronic monitoring, records said.

This is what gets me. These young men commit a capital crime and somehow a judge decides that they should be released from custody despite kidnapping, extortion, crossing state lines, transporting (probably stolen, or that's what the relative who gave the gun to them will claim to avoid all responsibility) guns across state lines, and given the circumstances, the victim could have very easily died from exposure, so attempted murder should be thrown in. But no, one of the two named defendants (the third has "left the country"... oh, gosh, how could that be, in an era in which people with anything other than northern European heritage are disappeared?) is sufficiently responsible to be released from custody?

Good thing none of the suspects were black or brown, in which case they'd already be in an El Salvadoran torture camp.

Now that Qatar has given Trump $400 million, are Arabs considered white enough for the MAGAs?

They wouldn’t have kidnapped me for my gold bars!

[quote] This is what gets me. These young men commit a capital crime and somehow a judge decides that they should be released from custody despite kidnapping, extortion, crossing state lines, transporting

That's nothing.

[bold]An alleged teen killer accused of stabbing a sporting rival in cold blood has been thrown another bone after being granted bail.

Karmelo Anthony has now been told he can graduate from high school, according to the Daily Mail.

Frisco Independent School District's about-face, deciding Anthony, 17, can graduate from Centennial High School despite his first-degree murder charge, was confirmed by his adviser and spokesman Dominque Alexander.

The reversal is likely to be controversial. The murder case has become a flashpoint about race and privilege, garnering national attention.

Anthony is accused of stabbing Austin Metcalf, 17, in the chest after the Memorial High School student confronted Anthony about sitting under the Memorial team tent at a track meet in Frisco, Texas on April 2.

Meanwhile, Anthony, who initially fled the track meet after the stabbing, later told arresting officers "I did it," when he was taken into custody.

Now, he is claiming self defense.

‘We are in arrangements of doing an early gradation,' Alexander confirmed. 'They have agreed to allow him to graduate.'

However, Frisco ISD had initially expelled Anthony, according to Alexander, after outrage over Metcalf's killing spread like wildfire in the upscale community where both teens attended different schools.

'They were literally trying to expel him— period,' Alexander explained.

An expulsion would have automatically meant he would not graduate.

Alexander and the teen's parents held what turned out to be an dramatic press conference April 17, where Metcalf's father showed up uninvited and was escorted out by police officers.

During the media availability, the Anthonys claimed they were victims of racist death threats and complained Anthony would not be able to complete his high school education.

Hours after that press conference, Alexander says the school district sent word that the embattled teen and former football and track star would be allowed to graduate.

However, he will not be able to participate in the May 22 graduation ceremony or walk the stage.

‘We’re not asking for accommodations. We’re not asking for him to be part of any activities or anything,' Anthony's fixer said.

R10 what capital crime?

Is attempted murder not a capital crime any longer?

Florida, of course. Now they're exporting their trash to the rest of the country.

Wow, R8, that sounds EXACTLY like the NY Italians during the 30s-60s and Irish gangs in 50s-70s NY. The former kidnapped Mafiosi or their children and extorted $$$$$ from them; the latter snatched up neighborhood Irish who were doing well financially, beat them and held them until their families paid a hefty ransom.

Truly everything old is new again.

Exactly R16! Swap in crypto for cash piles hid in the home safe. If you’re willing to commit major crime in order to get rich, just kidnap a crypto $$$-dude, make him fear for his life, and make him give you his crypto $$$. Even a few teenagers can do it. I’m not surprised this is a fast-growing type of crime.

The only possible capital crime in the US is murder.

Yeah - a “capital crime” by definition is a crime that has the legal possibility of being punishable by death.

This crime would not qualify.

Maybe don't keep your net worth in digital magical fairy codes?

It’s definitely a thing.

Here’s a story about a failed crypto kidnap attempt on the streets of Paris, and it mentions multiple similar cases across Europe.

Exactly r20. Physical cash in a vault weighing tons overlaid with a zillion security features is far better. Add a thick concrete and steel metal floor and it's almost impenetrable.

And, by the way—stablecoins have been around for a long time. Regular folks call them dollars (strange but true).

Don't put your wealth out there. Trust no one when it comes to money. No FB , NO PICTURES NOTHING

Dollars are backed by the full faith and credit of the American people, R23. Now while that means a bit less than it did a scant 6 months ago, it does still mean something. What value is backing crypto?

Dumbfuck—a stablecoin by definition is equal to one dollar. Its value doesn’t change. Which is why it makes no sense to crate a bitcoin that is “stable.” The best version already exists.

create*

[quote] Don't put your wealth out there. Trust no one when it comes to money. No FB , NO PICTURES NOTHING

I think the whole premise of Bitcoin is that you HAVE TO put it out there for trade.

That's how you create wealth with Bitcoin.

I think.

Pump. Dump. That’s all it’s good for.

Or illicit financing—drugs and laundering. That is all.