• A Los Angeles jury convicted former LAPD officer Eric Halem of kidnapping for ransom and residential invasion theft on March 2.
  • Halem and his accomplices posed as law enforcement officials to enter the sufferer’s high-rise condominium, used LAPD-issued handcuffs to restrain the victims, and stole a tough drive containing Bitcoin personal keys.
  • Bodily assaults on cryptocurrency holders surged 75% in 2025 with confirmed losses exceeding US$40.9 million (AU$62 million), in accordance with blockchain safety agency CertiK.

A Los Angeles jury on March 2 convicted former LAPD officer Eric Halem of kidnapping for ransom and residential invasion theft after prosecutors stated he led an armed crew that stole US$350,000 (AU$500K) in Bitcoin (BTC) from a 17-year-old’s 18th-floor Koreatown condominium.

Prosecutors said Eric Halem, 38, and others wearing police-style gear, entered an 18th-floor Koreatown condominium within the early hours of Dec. 28, 2024, and used LAPD-issued handcuffs to restrain the sufferer’s girlfriend. 

They then pressured the sufferer, recognized in court docket as Daniel, handy over a tough drive holding Bitcoin personal keys, and took money and jewelry earlier than leaving.

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Bodily Crypto Assaults On The Rise

The jury returned responsible verdicts on kidnapping for ransom and residential invasion theft after lower than a day of deliberations. The case relied closely on GPS location data tied to automobiles related to Halem’s luxurious automobile rental enterprise and messages prosecutors stated confirmed him monitoring police radio site visitors after the theft.

On the stand, Daniel stated the group threatened him with a gun. Throughout cross-examination, he admitted he had obtained the Bitcoin by means of fraud, which prosecutors argued didn’t cut back the seriousness of the theft.

Halem didn’t testify and the protection referred to as no witnesses, whereas his lawyer argued investigators cherry-picked messages and did not correctly confirm Daniel’s model of occasions.

Halem left the LAPD in 2022 and was serving as a reserve officer on the time, in accordance with prosecutors. He was additionally underneath investigation over an alleged staged Bentley crash for insurance coverage fraud when he was arrested within the Bitcoin case. 

Sentencing is about for March 31, and he faces as much as life in state jail.

The conviction comes as bodily coercion instances focusing on crypto holders rise. CertiK stated confirmed “wrench assaults” climbed 75% in 2025, with losses above US$40.9 million (AU$58 million).

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