A former Los Angeles police officer was convicted of kidnapping and robbing a teenager of $350,000 in Bitcoin. The verdict underscores escalating physical security risks tied to self-custodied crypto assets.
Libor Jany
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury on Monday found Eric Halem, 38, guilty following a two-week trial centered on a 2024 home invasion in Koreatown. Prosecutors said Halem and three alleged accomplices posed as police officers to enter a high-rise apartment and steal a hard drive containing the victim’s Bitcoin.
Are Crypto Holders Facing Rising Physical Threats?
According to trial testimony cited by the Los Angeles Times, the group wore vests identifying them as police and accessed the apartment using a code supplied by a conspirator who had rented the unit to the 17-year-old victim. Once inside, the men restrained the teenager’s girlfriend with LAPD-issued handcuffs, subdued the victim, and demanded the storage device under threat of death.
The victim, who testified under the first name Daniel, handed over the hard drive, prosecutors said. During closing arguments, Halem’s attorney, Megan Maitia, noted the teenager admitted on the stand to acquiring his crypto holdings through fraud, though that claim did not alter the robbery charge or the jury’s decision.
Halem served 13 years with the Los Angeles Police Department and left the force in 2022, though he was still listed as a reserve officer at the time of the incident. He was first charged in August last year and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31. His co-defendants have yet to stand trial, and prosecutors allege one has ties to the so-called Israeli mafia.
The case highlights a persistent vulnerability in crypto markets: digital assets secured by private keys can be transferred instantly once physical coercion occurs. Legal experts and custody providers are likely to point to this verdict as another catalyst for stronger personal security practices and institutional-grade custody solutions.
