A group of teen hackers stole $243 million in Bitcoin via social engineering. Following the theft, they kidnapped one hacker’s parents to extort more funds. Quick police action led to the rescue of the parents and arrests of several suspects. Five have pleaded guilty and face significant prison time as investigations continue.
In a shocking turn of events, a staggering $243 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen through a sophisticated social engineering scheme by a group of teenage hackers. The heist unfolded on August 19, 2024, led by three individuals known as Greavys (Malone Iam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), and Box (Jeandiel Serrano), who targeted a cryptocurrency investor in Washington, D.C. Using deceptive tactics, they manipulated the victim into transferring the funds to the hackers’ wallet without realising it.
The scheme involved impersonating Google support to gain the victim’s trust, followed by a call from an entity claiming to represent Gemini, a popular crypto exchange. This false alarm about a security breach prompted the victim to reset their two-factor authentication (2FA). As a result, the hackers seized control and absconded with 4,100 Bitcoin, leaving the victim aghast at the extensive loss.
Just a week after the theft, the situation escalated dangerously when Chetal’s parents were kidnapped in a bid to extort more Bitcoin. Armed men forcibly placed Sushil and Radhika Chetal into a van while they were outside their Connecticut home. Fortunately, quick-thinking neighbours, including an off-duty FBI agent, alerted the police, allowing them to track the vehicle and rescue the couple unharmed.
The motive behind this outrageous act was reportedly to pressure Veer Chetal to hand over additional funds from the heist, leveraging his parents’ safety as a means of coercion. Law enforcement acted swiftly, capturing four suspects within hours, with Greavys and Box apprehended during a Miami SWAT raid and at LAX respectively.
As investigations unfolded, Veer Chetal was taken into custody alongside his accomplices, facing serious federal charges relating to the kidnapping and theft. By March 2025, five suspects had pleaded guilty, with potential sentences reaching up to 15 years in prison. Authorities continue to investigate connections to the broader scamming operation, while a federal wallet has been established to secure the recovered Bitcoin.
