Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty
A 76-year-old retiree was zip-tied and held hostage in his North Carolina home by a pair of bogus utility workers who traveled from Florida to drain—at gunpoint—the contents of the man’s cryptocurrency account, which the alleged mastermind of the scheme apparently planned to put toward his own retirement.
That’s according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday and obtained by The Daily Beast, which charges Jarod Gabriel Seemungal, 22, and Remy Ra St. Felix, 23, with kidnapping and conspiracy over the violent April 12 holdup that netted more than $150,000 in crypto and landed the retiree and his wife in the hospital. During the terrifying home invasion, St. Felix allegedly threatened to lop off the man’s toes and genitals if he didn’t cooperate.
The pair began planning the heist at least six months ago, the feds say.