Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images
What in the hell is Bitcoin? And what in the hell is Ether? Seriously, what the hell is any of that? Well, 35-year-old Louis Meza knows what it is because he decided to not only kidnap his friend, but to steal $1.8 million in virtual money from him, too.
Meza, from New Jersey, lured his friend into a minivan, where, according to NY Daily News, a gunman pointed a pistol at the victim and demanded his 24-word passphrase. Once Meza, a cryptocurrency investor, got the code it allowed him access to his victim’s Ether wallet.
Guy Arrested For Kidnapping Friend And Stealing $1.8 Million In Cybercash From Him
Photo: Louis Meza/LinkedIn
Meza also allegedly looted a ledger and other information to get into the man’s funds from his apartment. The stolen currency turned up in Meza’s account the next day, according to the Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. This case shows “the increasingly common intersection between cyber and violent crime,” Vance said.
Meza pleaded not guilty to grand larceny, kidnapping, robbery and related counts at his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Meza is currently being held on $1 million bond.
And I still don’t know what all this virtual cash is about. The only virtual cash I know is the virtual cash I had when I used to play The Sims. And even then I needed cheat codes in order to get a bunch of cash.
