A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to participating in a theft of $245 million in Bitcoin. According to reports, the suspect, Veer Chetal, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges after his parents were kidnapped.
According to court documents that were unsealed this week, 19-year-old Chetal from Danbury, Connecticut, has also agreed to testify against his co-defendants. The Connecticut native was one of three men charged in an online scam last August, stealing about 4,100 Bitcoins from their victim, a resident in Washington D.C. Reports claimed that the trio used the proceeds from the heist to live a luxury lifestyle, spending millions on cars, jewelry, rental mansions and nightclub parties.
Connecticut native docked for Bitcoin theft after parents’ kidnap
According to authorities, a week after Chetal and his co-conspirators carried out the crime, his parents were kidnapped and assaulted. Although the attack failed, authorities believed that the attacker had aimed to use the kidnap to coerce Chetal, who they believed had a large amount of digital assets, into using part of the funds to secure his parents’ release.
Chetal’s parents were said to be in their new Lamborghini SUV when the attackers forced them out and assaulted them. Police, at the time, mentioned that after they were taken, the attackers bound them and forced them into their waiting van. Witnesses immediately called the police. The police were able to react quickly, arresting four men after they abandoned their vehicles and the van to flee on foot. Two other suspects were later arrested at a nearby home the group rented through an Airbnb, authorities said.
During the hearing, one of the defendants, Michael Rivas, apologized for his actions. He said it was a dumb idea and he only did it to help one of the co-defendants who had a vendetta, although he did not elaborate. Meanwhile, his lawyer said that he only accepted to be a part of the gang in hopes of getting a share of the loot. At the time, there were reports of a Bitcoin theft where the assailants had been reportedly involved in a massive spending spree.
Chetal agrees to testify against his co-defendants
The criminal case involving the Connecticut native was unsealed on Monday in a Washington federal court, revealing his guilty plea in November and an agreement to cooperate with federal authorities investigating the Bitcoin theft. It also revealed the prosecutors are looking into new allegations that he was involved in about 50 other thefts where he stole more than $3 million from November 2023 to September 2024. Authorities also claimed that Chetal was also involved in a $2 million crypto theft that took place in October, but refused to tell them about it.
Last September, federal agents with a search warrant raided the Connecticut native’s Brunswick, New Jersey apartment and his parent’s home in Danbury in connection to the Bitcoin theft. Investigators mentioned that they found more than $500,000 in cash, expensive jewelry and watches, and luxury clothes. Federal agents also added that Chetal had about $39 million worth of digital assets that he turned over to investigators. Authorities claimed that Chetal could face deportation as part of the criminal case.
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