Armed Robberies Targeting Crypto Holders Surge, Including $11M Theft from Sam Altman Associate

Lachy Groom, a former partner of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, lost $11 million in crypto during an armed home invasion on Saturday evening, reports said on Nov. 26. Perpetrators posed as delivery personnel, restrained the victim with duct tape, and emptied crypto accounts before seizing devices. Recent incidents include a Nov. 22 case in St. Petersburg where a suspect detonated fake grenades at an exchange office demanding asset transfers, a Canadian conviction on Nov. 4 involving a 13.5-hour home invasion that netted $1.6 million in Bitcoin, and a UK highway robbery on Nov. 4 that yielded a £450,000 watch plus £1.1 million ($1.44 million) in crypto. Steve Krystek, CEO of personal security firm PFC Safeguards, noted kidnappings of crypto investors are increasing, with the community dubbing such incidents "wrench attacks" where asset protection depends on victims' resistance to physical coercion.