- John D’Aguita was arrested in St. Maarten on suspicion of $46 million in cryptocurrency theft.
- The FBI and the French Nationwide Gendarmerie performed a joint worldwide operation.
- Blockchain researcher ZachXBT traced the stolen funds to a U.S. Marshals seized pockets.
Authorities have arrested a suspect suspected of stealing greater than $46 million in digital foreign money from wallets related to the U.S. Marshals Service. John D’Aguita was arrested on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in a joint operation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and French regulation enforcement, in response to an announcement from Kash Patel.
The operation was carried out with assist from the French Nationwide Gendarmerie, together with an elite tactical unit from Guadeloupe. Officers stated the arrests adopted months of worldwide coordination between U.S. regulation enforcement and French authorities.
Investigation started with on-chain traces
The case first made headlines earlier this 12 months when blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported that tens of millions of {dollars} in seized cryptocurrencies had been moved from wallets related to the U.S. Marshals Service.
In response to ZachXBT, the funds have been tracked on-chain in January 2026 and linked to addresses believed to accommodate belongings seized by US authorities.
After the findings have been reported to regulation enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service launched a proper investigation into the destiny of the seized funds.
ZachXBT later stated that after the investigation was made public, the suspect repeatedly taunted him on Telegram and even despatched small transactions generally known as “dusting assaults” to the investigator’s public pockets deal with.
Questions come up about contractor entry
Prosecutors declare D’Aguita gained entry to digital belongings by way of CMDSS, an IT firm run by his father that had a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service.
The corporate was reportedly employed to assist handle and get rid of digital foreign money seized throughout the federal investigation.
Authorities haven’t but defined precisely how D’Aguita gained entry to the wallets used to retailer these belongings. Nonetheless, investigators consider the breach might have concerned abuse of inside entry privileges tied to authorities contracts.
D’Aguita presently faces federal fees associated to the theft fees, and U.S. authorities are anticipated to hunt extradition from France’s Saint-Martin jurisdiction. The case additionally sparked a broader debate about how regulation enforcement protects digital belongings seized.
The U.S. Marshals Service is chargeable for storing and managing cryptocurrencies seized throughout legal investigations, typically housing billions of {dollars} in digital belongings associated to main enforcement instances.
Associated: Coinbase helps federal marshals promote seized bitcoins
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