A UK resident has accused his estranged wife of stealing over 2,323 Bitcoin from a Trezor hardware wallet, allegedly using a security camera to capture his seed phrase and wallet access codes.
Summary
- Ping Fai Yuen alleges 2,323 Bitcoin were taken from his hardware wallet after his wife and her sister obtained his seed phrase through covert surveillance.
- Funds were moved to 71 wallet addresses, with no activity recorded since December 2023 as police arrested the accused and seized related devices
- A UK High Court judge said the claimant has a strong chance of success.
A court judgment filed in the UK’s High Court of Justice outlines claims by the plaintiff, Ping Fai Yuen, alleging that his wife, Fun Yung Li, and her sister secretly recorded him using surveillance equipment to obtain his seed phrase. Subsequently, the funds were transferred to 71 different wallet addresses.
Ping figured something was wrong after allegedly being tipped off by his daughter, following which he installed audio recording equipment that he claims captured conversations related to the alleged theft and plans to move the funds.
However, court documents claim no transactions have taken place from the wallets since Dec. 21, 2023.
Ping reported the alleged theft to the police, after which authorities arrested his wife and confiscated several cold wallets and luxury watches as part of the investigation.
Last year, Ping filed an application asking the court to freeze all crypto assets linked to his wife, formally recognize his ownership of the Bitcoin, and either return the funds or award him their equivalent value in fiat currency. At the time, he also raised concerns about a potential crypto dusting attack, which involves sending small amounts of cryptocurrency to wallets to track activity and identify high-value holders.
According to the judge presiding over the case, Ping has a high chance of success, noting that the defendant had not provided “any alternative (or any) explanation for the movement of the Bitcoin.”
“The evidence is that he was warned of what the First Defendant was seeking to do, the transcripts are damning; and when the First Defendant’s property was searched, the necessary equipment to exfiltrate the Bitcoin was found,” the judge wrote.
Further, the judge stated that the court will schedule a case management hearing if the parties fail to agree on the next steps and have recommended an early trial, citing the security risks and price volatility associated with Bitcoin.
As previously reported by crypto.news, last month, John Daghita was arrested in Saint Martin for allegedly stealing more than $46 million in cryptocurrency. Authorities allege Daghita misappropriated over $46 million in cryptocurrency from wallets held by the U.S. Marshals Service while working as a government contractor.
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