According to The Block, a jury at the Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled on Monday that 38-year-old former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Eric Halem is guilty of kidnapping and robbery for stealing $350,000 worth of bitcoin from a 17-year-old teenager in 2024. Details of the case reveal that Halem, along with three other men, impersonated police officers and entered the victim’s high-rise apartment in Koreatown, threatening to kill the teen and forcing him to hand over a hard drive containing bitcoin. The suspects wore police vests and used access codes provided by an accomplice to enter the apartment, then restrained the victim and his girlfriend with handcuffs issued by the LAPD. Halem served 13 years with the LAPD before resigning in 2022 and was still serving as a reserve officer at the time of the incident. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31. The other accomplices have not yet been tried, and prosecutors stated that one of them is linked to the so-called "Israeli Mafia."
Former LAPD officer convicted of kidnapping and robbery in $350,000 Bitcoin theft
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Summary
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury convicted former LAPD officer Eric Halem of kidnapping and robbery in connection with a $350,000 Bitcoin theft from a 17-year-old in 2024. Halem and three others impersonated police, used a stolen access code to enter the victim’s Koreatown apartment, and threatened to kill him for a hard drive containing the cryptocurrency. Halem, who served 13 years with the LAPD before resigning in 2022, was on reserve duty at the time and is scheduled for sentencing on March 31. Prosecutors connected one suspect to the so-called “Israeli Mafia.” The case underscores CFT efforts as liquidity and crypto markets face increasing scrutiny over criminal activity.
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