Three teenagers are being accused of kidnapping a wealthy investor and then stealing $4 million in digital assets after driving him to a desert outside of Las Vegas.
Court records show that Belal Ashraf and Austin Fletcher, both 16, are now facing charges of robbery, kidnapping and extortion, while a third yet-named accomplice remains at large, reports local CBS-affiliate 8 News Now.
A juvenile court judge previously ruled that Ashraf and Fletcher, both from Florida, will face charges as adults. Prosecutors say the third teenager is no longer in the US.
According to court documents, the incident occurred in November and was reported to police by the unnamed victim, who was hosting a cryptocurrency event in downtown Las Vegas.
When he returned to his apartment from the event, the three suspects allegedly approached him after he parked his car and forced him into the back seat of their vehicle, where they held him at gunpoint.
Says court documents,
“[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. [The victim] had a towel placed over his head and was told by the suspects not to look at them.”
The teenagers allegedly demanded that the victim give them his passwords to access his financial accounts, enabling them to allegedly make off with $4 million in cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The three teenagers are accused of driving the victim about an hour away from Vegas to White Hills, Arizona, where they allegedly left the victim after stealing his crypto.
The man walked five miles across the desert to reach a gas station where he called a friend to pick him up, according to court documents.
Police say they were able to track down the suspects by honing in on a possible suspect’s vehicle traveling from Florida to Nevada, which was also spotted around the victim’s apartment.
Court proceedings against the two teens are ongoing.
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