Ex-LAPD Cop Convicted in $350K Bitcoin Kidnapping Case

 

Eric Halem, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, has been found guilty of kidnapping a 17-year-old and stealing $350,000 worth of crypto after invading his home in 2024.

 

Halem, who served with the LAPD for 13 years but retired in 2022, was said to have illegally invaded the home of the teen, named Daniel, alongside three co-conspirators.

 

Upon gaining entrance into the teen's home under the guise of carrying out a search warrant, Halem subdued both the teen and his girlfriend, threatening to shoot him if he didn't hand over a hard drive containing Bitcoin. Apparently, the teen did have a significant amount of crypto.

 

Although Halem has been found guilty by the court, his sentencing is scheduled for March 31. And since he's been tried for kidnapping and robbery, which fall under California's aggravated statutes, Halem risks spending a long time in prison.

 

 

The Rise of Wrench Attacks

A wrench attack, also known as the $5 wrench attack, involves physical threats or violence to force a person to hand over their crypto private keys.

 

There has been an increase in the number of wrench attacks within the last few years. According to a 2025 security report from blockchain security firm CertiK, there were 72 recorded incidents of wrench attacks, a 75% increase from 2024.

 

     

 

Certik also reported a loss of more than $40.9 million from these attacks, with Europe accounting for 40% of these attacks worldwide, and kidnapping being the most common method used by assailants.

 

Jameson Lopp, Co-founder and Chief Security Officer of crypto security firm Casa Inc, has also been documenting these crypto wrench attacks from 2014 to date in a GitHub repository named "physical-bitcoin-attacks."

 

Based on tracked incidents in the GitHub repo, there have been 16 documented crypto-wrench attack cases this year alone, with France recording the most cases, with kidnapping being the most common method used by attackers.