A former officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was found guilty of kidnapping and robbery for stealing $350,000 in Bitcoin from a 17-year-old during a home invasion at an apartment in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Superior Court jury reached the verdict after less than a day of deliberations. Sentencing is scheduled for March 31.
Eric Halem, 38, served 13 years with the LAPD before resigning in 2022 and held active reserve officer status at the time of the crime. Together with three accomplices, he entered the 18-story building wearing fake police vests and an access code obtained from an internal contact, posing as agents executing a search warrant.
Inside the apartment, they restrained the victim’s girlfriend with standard LAPD handcuffs and threatened the teenager with shooting, choking, and killing him until he handed over a hard drive containing the cryptocurrencies.
The defense attempted to discredit the key witness by pointing out that the minor himself had admitted to acquiring his Bitcoin fortune through fraud, but the argument did not hold. The origin of the assets has no bearing on the commission of the crime, and the jury dismissed the claim swiftly.
This case reflects a growing pattern: organized operations designed to physically coerce crypto asset users. Unlike cash, Bitcoin leaves no physical trace once transferred, making it a high-value target for networks willing to resort to violence.
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