A French couple became targets of home invasions after buying a property whose previous owner's EUR1M crypto wealth was leaked on the dark web. Attackers streamed violence on Snapchat. Two defendants sentenced.
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In a quiet corner of northern France, a young couple's home has become a target for criminals seeking the cryptocurrency wealth of the property's former owners.
The couple, an agricultural worker and a bank executive in their late twenties, bought the house near Montdidier in the Somme department about two years ago. They had no idea the previous residents–a retired couple who had amassed roughly one million euros through crypto investments–had their tax records and former address exposed on the dark web.
That outdated information turned the new owners into repeat targets for thieves who wanted assets the current residents did not possess.
The ordeal started on June 24. A group of intruders forced their way onto the property. The family's dogs drove them away before any serious confrontation.
Two days later, a second team entered the home. They restrained one occupant and physically assaulted the other. In a particularly brazen detail, the attackers streamed portions of the violence live on Snapchat. They only abandoned the effort after realizing the people inside did not match the profile of the wealthy crypto holders they expected.
Alarmed, the couple installed a security system. On July 17, that alarm proved decisive. A third group of assailants approached with a crowbar, balaclavas, and cable ties, but the warning sound forced them to retreat.
Two young men from the Paris region, aged 20 and 21, later faced justice for this final attempt. One admitted accepting a vaguely described "mission" via Telegram that promised between 15,000 and 30,000 euros, motivated in part by a desire to help clear his mother's debts. The other, a rideshare driver, received 300 euros to transport the team from the Ile-de-France area to the Somme.
Investigators from the Montdidier gendarmerie pieced the case together through CCTV footage, phone records, and DNA evidence recovered from a motorway toll ticket on the A1. Authorities arrested the two defendants in early August. They appeared before the Amiens criminal court on August 10.
Both confessed, attributing their actions to poor judgment, stupidity, and greed. The court handed the younger man a three-year sentence, with 18 months to be served in custody. His accomplice received 18 months with nine months firm. Both remain detained and face a three-year ban from the Somme department as well as from contacting each other. They have a short window to appeal.
Prosecutors told the court that the case is part of a broader pattern of so-called "wrench attacks" in France, where criminals use physical force rather than digital hacking to seize cryptocurrency. Leaked personal data continues to put ordinary people at risk long after the original targets have moved on.
The victims, absent from the hearing, have made clear they no longer feel secure in the house and intend to sell it. Their lawyer summed up the misfortune succinctly: the couple bought the property in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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