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Man Robbed at Gunpoint for $1,100 in Bitcoin

A Crown Heights man was robbed at gunpoint and the thieves – two men and a woman – made off with his cellphone and $1,100 in the virtual ‘crypto-currency’ Bitcoin.

by Rachel Holliday Smith – DNAINFO

A 28-year-old Crown Heights man was forced at gunpoint to transfer more than $1,100 of the digital currency bitcoin into his attackers’ bank account last week after a Craigslist meet-up to sell the virtual money went south, local police said.

The victim set up a meeting through an online listing to meet a man he thought would buy his bitcoins at Troy Avenue and Crown Street on May 27, officials said. When he got to the corner, the stranger led him to a silver Honda where he said they’d finalize the deal.

But once inside the car, a second man pulled a gun on the victim from the backseat, forcing him to transfer the bitcoin funds to the two robbers. The virtual thieves then stole the victim’s cell phone and fled, police said.

The victim says he lost a total of $1,100 in bitcoin. The suspects had not been identified as of Thursday, police said.

3 Comments

  • Locked and Loaded Lubavitcher

    It has nothing to do with “stop and frisk”. Respect the 2nd amendment and do away with the “defacto” ban on concealed carry permits in NYC and NYS and (heaven forbid) let the citizens proactively defend themselves and you won’t have these problems! If everytime that a criminal tried a stunt like this, he knew that there was a good chance that he would end up with a few additional holes in his head, you can bet your bottom bitcoin that he would think a hundred times before going ahead with it.

  • noah

    this is why you do bitcoin transactions in a very public place – like a bank!