Key Takeaways:
- A gang of home invaders conducted a cryptocurrency heist in Port Moody, B.C., escaping with over $2 million worth of bitcoin.
- The invaders, including a Hong Kong man, forced the 18-year-old daughter to strip naked, sexually assaulted her on camera, and used her screams to persuade her parents to hand over details of their bank and cryptocurrency accounts.
- The attack lasted 13 hours, involving waterboarding, death threats, and physical violence against the family.
- One of the attackers, Tsz Wing Boaz Chan, was sentenced to seven years in prison and will likely be deported after completing his sentence.
- The investigation is ongoing, and police are still working to find the other men involved in the attack.
Introduction to the Incident
The incident occurred in the spring of 2024, when a woman answered a knock at the door of her home in Port Moody, B.C., and was met by two men in Canada Post uniforms who claimed to have a package to deliver. What unfolded over the next 13 hours was a horrific ordeal for the woman, her husband, and their 18-year-old daughter. The gang of home invaders, including a Hong Kong man brought to Canada specifically to help conduct the raid, subjected the family to waterboarding, sexual assault, and death threats, all in an effort to gain access to their cryptocurrency accounts.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
The attack was a long and complex plan executed by four invaders, as well as another suspect at the end of a phone line who used a filter to change his voice as he issued demands of the father. The home invaders spoke English, Mandarin, and Cantonese and referred to each other by numbers, one to four. The father and mother were both repeatedly waterboarded, as the men demanded access to cryptocurrency accounts. The blindfolded father "was waterboarded at least 10 times and each time he felt that he was taken to the edge of death," according to the judge’s summary of the man’s victim impact statement. The father was also stripped naked and beaten repeatedly throughout the night, with the home invaders threatening to "cut off his genitals" if he didn’t provide access to his bank and cryptocurrency accounts.
The Investigation and Sentencing
The investigation into the attack is ongoing, and police are still working to find the other men involved. However, one of the attackers, Tsz Wing Boaz Chan, was sentenced to seven years in prison by a B.C. provincial court judge on November 14, 2024. Chan pleaded guilty to break and enter, unlawful confinement, and sexual assault, and the judge’s reasons for the sentence reveal the horrific details of the attack. Chan was arrested trying to re-enter Canada on July 25, 2024, and his DNA was matched to one of the profiles lifted from the home invasion scene. He revealed that he had been paid about $50,000 for his part in the raid, the same amount the court ordered as restitution to be paid back to the victims.
The Victims’ Impact Statements
The family is still struggling to come to terms with the attack, and the father’s impact statement describes the financial devastation they have suffered. The family carries three mortgages for which they struggle to make minimum payments. The teenage victim also filed an impact statement, which describes the ongoing trauma she has experienced since the attack. She remains "tormented" by images and dreams of the attack and now carries a weapon for her protection when she goes out alone. The attack has had a profound impact on the family, and it will likely take them a long time to recover from the physical and emotional trauma they experienced.
The Broader Context of Cryptocurrency-Related Crimes
The attack is one of a number of cases where B.C. police say the owners of digital assets have been targeted with real-world violence. In July 2023, the Delta Police Department and Richmond RCMP issued a warning to "high-value" cryptocurrency investors after a spate of robberies in the Lower Mainland. The warning described a pattern of operating where suspects gain access to a victim’s home by posing as delivery people or persons of authority, and then rob them of information that gives access to their cryptocurrency accounts. The attack on the family in Port Moody, B.C., is a disturbing example of the lengths to which criminals will go to gain access to cryptocurrency accounts, and it highlights the need for investors to be vigilant and take steps to protect themselves and their assets.