In an astonishing case, two men in Vietnam were imprisoned for life due to a heinous case of cryptocurrency theft which included kidnapping and terrifying threats involving HIV-tainted needles. Additionally, the fourteenth to sixteenth defendants were ordered to receive prison terms of nine to nineteen years respectively. Moreover, two former policemen also got sentence of seventeen and twelve years respectively.

The events commenced in 2018 when Hồ Ngọc Tài decided to follow investment advice from Lê Đức Nguyên by selling 1,000 Bitcoin worth over VNĐ100 billion ($4.3 million) to invest in other cryptocurrencies through international exchanges. Complaining that Nguyên had deceived him since his investments went south, Tài then arranged a twisted game plan to steal Nguyên's cryptocurrency in May 2020.

For the criminal scheme, a total of sixteen individuals worked in unison; using GPS trackers to follow Nguyên, one deliberately crashed his motorbike into Nguyên’s car on the highway and the group followed by kidnapping him at gunpoint into a van, while also using needles supposedly containing “fake HIV-infected blood” to harass and threaten Nguyên’s family. As a result, Nguyên was forced to transfer 168 bitcoins, worth VNĐ37.1 billion ($1.5 million) to Tài for the safety of his family. Consequently, the court has ordered the defendants to pay the victim VNĐ18.8 billion ($800,000) in damages.

The verdict underlines the stark reality that cryptocurrencies are vulnerable to both theft and scams, the perpetrators of which can face serious legal consequences due to their actions. This case in Vietnam is one of many examples of individuals engaging in fraudulent or illegal activities to obtain digital assets, although the threats and methods employed can vary drastically between cases. Nonetheless, it nevertheless serves as a reminder that the security of digital assets should always be taken seriously in order to avoid similar devastating outcomes.



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