A 35-year-old man from New Jersey, Louis Meza, has been charged by the Manhattan District Attorney's office with kidnapping, robbery and criminal use of a firearm.
According to the DA's statement, Meza arranged to meet with an acquaintance on 4 November. After the meeting, Meza called a car for his friend but when he got into the minivan, the victim was met with another man, who allegedly had been waiting inside the vehicle with a gun.
According to the indictment, Meza reportedly knew that his friend possessed around $1.8m (£1.3m) of Ethereum in his digital wallet. The victim, whose identity still remains unknown, was forced to hand over his wallet, phone and home keys at gunpoint by the second man.
Surveillance footage of the victim's apartment showed Meza using the victim's keys to enter the apartment. Cameras caught Meza leaving the victim's apartment with a box, which is believed to have contained the victim's digital wallet. Meza allegedly also transferred the $1.8m worth of ether to his own personal account.
Fortunately however, the victim was able to escape from the minivan and call 911. Gizmodo reported that Meza was arrested and charged with grand larceny in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, robbery in the first degree, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree and computer trespass among other minor offenses.
Meza could face upto 25 years in prison if found guilty. Meza's accomplice — the gunman hiding in the minivan — is yet to be apprehended by the authorities.
