Case Study: The St Felix Crypto Robbery Crew
Case Study: The St Felix Crypto Robbery Crew
Summary
In 2022, Remy Ra St Felix led a violent robbery crew targeting cryptocurrency owners in Florida. St Felix, along with 12 others, orchestrated a series of home invasions where victims were assaulted and coerced into surrendering access to their crypto wallets. In this case study, we'll examine what happened, and go over some digital and tactical security measures to take in order to protect yourself and your digital assets from these gun-to-the-head style crypto attacks.
Execution of Crimes
The group utilized SIM swapping—a method of hijacking phone numbers to bypass two-factor authentication—and planned their attacks via encrypted apps. Once inside homes, they forced victims to reveal crypto access, eventually laundering $3.5 million. Remy Ra St Felix led the notorious criminal ring that targeted cryptocurrency owners through a combination of cyber and physical attacks. This crew, operating across multiple states, including Florida, Texas, and North Carolina, devised a strategy that merged high-tech SIM swapping with violent home invasions. They were responsible for stealing over $3.5 million in cryptocurrency from their victims during a brutal spree from 2022 to 2023.
Initial Approach:
The criminal activities initially began with SIM-swapping. This method allowed them to steal cryptocurrency remotely, with the assistance of international co-conspirators. However, as the group evolved, so did their tactics. They shifted to a more violent approach by invading homes, where they could coerce their victims into surrendering access to wallets under torture and threat of extreme violence against family members. This method of securing access to crypto is much easier than trying digital robbery methods as many crypto people already have digital security systems in place, but few have physical security in place.
Home Invasions:
The St Felix crew specifically targeted wealthy individuals who had substantial cryptocurrency holdings. They used physical surveillance to learn their targets’ daily routines and personal details. Once their plan was in place, the crew executed home invasions with brutal precision. Victims were held at gunpoint, often tied up with plastic cable ties, beaten, and threatened with violence, including cutting off body parts or raping and sodomizing loved ones while family members were forced to watch.
For example, in a case in North Carolina, St Felix and his posse broke into a couple’s home, threatening to maim and assault them unless they surrendered access to their crypto wallet. The crew stole over $150,000 in cryptocurrency in this instance. In another raid in Texas, a family was held captive for over three hours as the robbers tortured them to extract their crypto holdings. The brutality escalated when one victim was beaten and abducted before being found 120 miles away from his home. These crimes were not isolated; St Felix’s gang was responsible for similar attacks in Florida and New York.
Coordinated Operations:
The group used encrypted messaging apps to communicate and plan attacks, often discussing technical aspects of cryptocurrency, the tools required, and even the daily habits of their targets. They also planned the purchase of firearms, rental cars, and other logistics, often financed by their stolen cryptocurrency.
Arrests and Sentencing:
St Felix and 13 other members of his crew were eventually arrested and convicted. He was sentenced to 47 years in prison, with his accomplices receiving sentences ranging from 5 to 20 years. The FBI played a crucial role in bringing them down, intercepting St Felix on his way to another planned invasion in New York, where he was arrested with firearms and cable ties.
Outcome
The St Felix case highlights the deep vulnerabilities in physical security within the crypto space and the role of traditional violent criminal tactics in high-tech crimes.
Total Urban Survival Security Recommendations: Tactical and Digital Measures
It’s crucial to blend digital and tactical security to counter potential threats like those in the St Felix case. Failing to implement a proper multi-layered approach to the problem will leave vulnerabilities that gangs like the St Felix crew will exploit against you.
1. Cold Storage & Passphrase Protection: Use a hardware crypto wallet with an additional passphrase for critical assets. This passphrase acts as a hidden layer of security. In case of a “gun to the head” scenario, you can reveal a decoy wallet with minimal funds while keeping the real holdings secured by the hidden passphrase.
2. Multi-Signature Wallets: Transactions require approval from multiple trusted devices or people, minimizing vulnerability under coercion because there is no physical way for you to give them the money without encountering the third party who holds the other key. This method is employed a lot by high-profile crypto influencers constantly at risk of violent coercion attacks.
3. SIM Swap Protection: Avoid SMS-based 2FA. Instead, use hardware-based 2FA like YubiKey to protect accounts. Separate the YubiKey, so again the attacker would need to engage a bank safety deposit box situation if they wanted to force you to give them your money. But keep a small amount (in relation to your wealth profile) to hand over in order to ease the burden of mind on your attacker. Giving nothing sometimes ends with a violent pistol whipping as a parting gift from an angry attacker if they manage to get the better of you after all your security implementations fail. And if this is the case, you better review those security implementations and why they failed. Talk to our team at www.TotalUrbanSurvival.com if you need help with this.
Tactical Security:
1. Perimeter Defense: Reinforce doors, install motion sensors, and maintain a layered security setup with security cameras to monitor entry points.
2. Home Defense Drills: Have a tactical response plan in place, including safe rooms and quick access to weapons and secondary emergency communication devices. Ensure that all members of the household know the protocol in case of a home invasion.
3. Secure Communications: Avoid discussing crypto holdings openly or, even worse, in social media, even in encrypted channels. Use platforms like Signal, Telegram Secure Chat, or other highly secure methods when absolutely necessary.
4. Situational Awareness: Constantly review security routines and practice defensive strategies to ensure readiness in case of a forced attack.
By integrating digital security with tactical readiness, crypto holders with military, police, or martial arts backgrounds can greatly reduce their risk exposure to potential violence. If you'd like to learn more about crypto and combatives with us have a look at our Wartime Financial curriculum HERE