- Venezuelan man is now a fugitive after emptying his clients’ accounts of $1.15M in Bitcoin after faking his kidnapping.
- The 23-year-old was a financial advisor to several clients and has access to their Binance accounts.
A 23-year-old Venezuelan man is now on the run after stealing over $1 million in Bitcoin and faking his kidnapping. Andres Jesus Dos Santos Hernandez, a Venezuelan financial advisor, did so by taking advantage of his ability to control his clients’ funds. This is according to Douglas Rico, Chief of Venezuela’s Scientific, Criminal and Criminalistic Investigations Corps (CICPC). The CICPC is a national agency equivalent to the US FBI.
As per Rico’s statement, Hernandez was employed as an investment intermediary for a number of clients. He had access to his clients’ Binance accounts from which he drained 23.66 Bitcoin worth about $1,150,000 at current prices. As a sort of cover-up, Hernandez claimed to be kidnapped and was being forced to withdraw the funds by his captors.
At the moment, the man is on the run, say the CICPC. Local alerts have been issued, including an Instagram post with Hernandez’s photo and a “WANTED” bulletin. It remains unclear, however, if the agency intends to issue international alerts as the scammer may have fled to another country.
Bitcoin and crypto adoption by Venezuelan people
Notably, Venezuela is one of the countries in the world that is fast adopting cryptocurrencies as per the “Geography of Cryptocurrency.” This is according to this year’s Global Crypto Adoption Index from Chainalysis blockchain analytics firm. The country ranks as the seventh nation fast accepting crypto, after Kenya and Nigeria.
The country has long been plagued by hyperinflation, with its local currency being almost worthless. Venezuelans also continuously seek ways to insulate themselves from messy economic controls and the US Treasury Department sanctions.
Now, shopping and even passport payments are being made in digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin (LTC), and Dash. The nation’s government also authorized cryptocurrencies mining last year. Miners are, however, required to acquire regulatory authorization and accepted mining rigs to operate.
Nevertheless, fraud and crime, and creativity in performing these illegal operations have increased with crypto adoption. The above case is, therefore, not isolated.
Mounting cryptocurrency-related crimes
Just three weeks ago, Gustavo Torres Gonzalez, also a citizen of Venezuela, was captured. The perpetrators demanded 1.5 Bitcoins to free him and later reduced the ransom to 0.5 Bitcoins. Torres’ family was, however, only able to raise 0.062 Bitcoins. Two days on and the victim’s body was found lifeless on the local highway.
While the hijackers specifically demanded payment in Bitcoin, it was unclear whether Torres has any connection to the cryptocurrency. The businessman owned a local Internet ISP company, as far as is known.
Similarly, William Creighton, founder of an online gambling site called 5Dimes, was also taken hostage in 2018. He was later found buried in a nearby cemetery under an unnamed headstone. His family has only managed to raise $1 million of the $5 million in Bitcoin for ransom.