Digital Detectives and the High-stakes Crypto Case Coinbase Helped Crack

Coinbase is one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, providing individuals, businesses, and developers with a secure platform to buy, sell, store, and manage digital assets. Among its many specialized groups is the global intelligence team, a cohort dedicated to assisting law enforcement in investigating illicit activities on the platform. This team, led by skilled professionals like Kristen Spaeth, bridges the gap between crypto investigations and legal enforcement, ensuring that bad actors exploiting digital assets are swiftly identified and brought to justice.

A violent home invasion leads to crypto theft

On a Wednesday morning, Kristen Spaeth received an email from an FBI agent detailing a disturbing case. An elderly couple had been violently attacked in their own home and forced at gunpoint to transfer their cryptocurrency to private wallets controlled by criminals. Unlike many crypto crimes, which are typically conducted remotely by anonymous actors, this case involved a terrifying physical assault.

“Typically, crypto investigations don’t have that physical element,” Spaeth explained. “Most of the time, bad actors never come face to face with their victims. But in this case, they did, and they inflicted real harm.”

As the details unfolded, it became clear that this was not an isolated incident. The perpetrators had methodically planned their attacks, targeting victims based on their crypto holdings. The FBI collaborated with Coinbase to trace the stolen funds and uncover the broader criminal network.

The investigation: Following the money trail

Recognizing the urgency of the case, Spaeth and her team began tracing the stolen funds using Coinbase’s internal tools and blockchain intelligence solution, TRM Forensics. The criminals had deployed multiple laundering techniques to obfuscate their movements, including cross-chain swaps and peeling chains. However, with the right analytical tools and investigative expertise, the team was able to follow the trail.

“Blockchain intelligence tools are absolutely critical to our job,” Spaeth noted. “Without them, tracking the movement of funds would be nearly impossible. These tools let us visualize transactions and see patterns that would take days to manually uncover.”

Through careful tracing, the team identified a network of accounts tied to multiple home invasion robberies. The analysis revealed that the stolen funds were being moved through decentralized exchanges. Despite these efforts, Coinbase’s Global Intelligence team was able to link the transactions to real-world identities, helping law enforcement build their case.

One key figure stood out: Remy St. Felix, a convicted felon with prior charges for violent crimes. Further blockchain analysis uncovered transactions linking him and his associates to multiple home invasions across several states. The investigation soon revealed that St. Felix was the ringleader of a nationwide organized crime ring specifically targeting cryptocurrency holders.

Once Coinbase confirmed that the stolen funds had passed through accounts on its platform, they provided law enforcement with the necessary records to tie real-world identities to the blockchain transactions.

Arrests, convictions, and a safer crypto ecosystem

Armed with evidence from Coinbase and blockchain intelligence tools, the FBI expanded its investigation and uncovered a nationwide crime ring responsible for targeting high-net-worth individuals. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement arrested 14 individuals and 3 outside the continental United States connected to these crimes. Collectively, the group had stolen over USD 3.5 million across various financial institutions through a combination of cyber fraud and physical violence.

Of the 14 perpetrators, 13 accepted plea deals, while the ringleader, Remy St. Felix, chose to go to trial. All US subjects were sentenced by October 15, 2024, for a combined total of 232 years. Spaeth played a pivotal role in the courtroom, testifying on behalf of Coinbase and explaining the evidence linking the suspects to the stolen funds. The blockchain analysis provided by Coinbase and TRM Labs was instrumental in securing convictions.

Ultimately, St. Felix was sentenced to 47 years in prison — one of the longest sentences ever given for a crime involving cryptocurrency. In announcing the verdict, the Department of Justice underscored the significance of the case, calling it a landmark moment in combating crypto-related violent crime.

Reflecting on the case, Spaeth emphasized the importance of public-private collaboration in stopping crypto crime.

“This case proves how critical investigations teams are to the safety of users and the broader ecosystem. By working closely with law enforcement, we were able to prevent more attacks and ensure these criminals faced justice.”

For law enforcement agencies dealing with similar cases, her advice is simple:

“Reach out to us as soon as possible. The faster we get involved, the better the chances of recovering stolen funds and stopping bad actors in their tracks.”

Thanks to the expertise and diligence of Coinbase’s Global Intelligence Team, a dangerous criminal network was dismantled, ensuring that fewer individuals fall victim to violent crypto crimes in the future.