US authorities have charged three men with a series of violent robberies targeting cryptocurrency holders across California. The spree netted $6.5 million in digital assets from victims in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Federal prosecutors indicted the trio on charges related to what they described as a brazen series of wrench attacks. The scheme involved physical robberies aimed at stealing cryptocurrency holdings from individuals in the state.
Tyler Robert Buchanan, a 24-year-old from Dundee, Scotland, pleaded guilty in a California federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said he and accomplices stole $8 million in virtual currency from victims across the United States through phishing attacks. He faces up to 22 years in prison at his August 21 sentencing.
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Four men have been sentenced to six years in prison for an aggravated robbery in Tobo, northern Uppland. A family was bound, subjected to a mock execution, and forced to transfer cryptocurrency worth 2.5 million kronor. The robbery was interrupted after 1.5 hours when one victim alerted relatives.