ScamsNOW!
The SCARS Institute Magazine about Scam Victims-Survivors, Scams, Fraud & Cybercrime
Cryptocurrency Home Invasion Armed Robbery
By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., and third-party sources
A Significant New Escalation In The Theft Of Cryptocurrency – Violent Home Invasions
Durham, North Carolina Police & The FBI Are Investigating A Terrifying Home Invasion Involving Cryptocurrency Theft
A Durham, North Carolina couple endured a harrowing ordeal during a recent home invasion, where they were targeted for their cryptocurrency holdings. According to authorities, two armed men, disguised as construction workers, approached the couple’s Wells Street residence.
Once inside, the assailants, identified as Remy Ra St. Felix and Elmer Castro, brandished handguns and restrained the elderly couple using zip ties. The terrified victims, both 76 years old, were then coerced into transferring a significant amount of cryptocurrency, totaling $250,000, to an undisclosed account.
The criminals employed appalling threats, including harm to the husband’s toes and genitalia, as well as plans to shoot him and assault his wife. Under duress, the couple was forced to execute four transactions, totaling $156,853, within a 45-minute window. Fortunately, Coinbase flagged one of the transactions, potentially aiding the investigation.
Court documents revealed that the heinous plot was not a spontaneous act but rather a premeditated crime. A third accomplice was involved in tracking the victims, with Castro and St. Felix allegedly surveilling the couple for three days before the invasion took place.
According to ABC11:
Felix and Elmer Castro zip-tied the two 76-year-olds and held them at gunpoint. The court documents say the men threatened to cut off the husband’s toes and genitalia, to shoot him and rape his wife before forcing them to transfer more than $150,000 worth of cryptocurrency to an unknown account.
According to CBS17:
The arrest warrants released last Thursday, August 3rd for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping indicate two West Palm Beach, Florida, men are wanted — Jarod Gabriel Seemungal and Remy Ra St. Felix.
CBS 17 has also obtained an FBI criminal complaint filed the same day in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina which said suspects began as early as February targeting retirees who had cryptocurrency and that the accused men even had the license plate number for the husband’s car. A third man is also named in the criminal complaint, but no arrest warrant was issued for him Thursday.
According to the FBI:
The two suspects also discussed in internet messages how potential victims “have so much” money in accounts that it would be “retirement licks” — the FBI explaining in the complaint that “licks” is slang for a robbery, the complaint said.
The thieves apparently rented a car in Florida and visited the Millennium Hotel in Durham a couple of days before the actual robbery, according to the complaint. Video from a home near the victims’ showed the thieves’ BMW SUV “conducting surveillance” at the couple’s home each of the three days before the kidnapping, the FBI said.
One part of the FBI’s complaint said a person driving a gray 2019 BMW X5 — extremely similar to the SUV the suspects used — visited a Durham Walmart on April 11 to purchase the costumes that allowed thieves to get into the home of the elderly victims.
Walmart records from the Glen School Road store revealed a debit card of one man linked to the robbery showed the purchase of a clipboard, reflective vest, sunglasses and a pair of khaki pants, the FBI said. Video also showed two of the men involved inside the Walmart, the FBI said.
The theft itself is also detailed in the FBI complaint, indicating how the suspects entered the home and took control.
The robbery began when two men dressed as construction workers came to the door of the elderly couple’s home around 7:30 a.m. April 12, the FBI said.
The duo claimed they would be inspecting pipes for damage and told the husband they would be “walking around the house.”
After a few minutes, the pair knocked on the door again and the wife answered the door. The suspects who both had guns then pushed their way inside.
“The men restrained and zip-tied the husband’s hands and the wife’s hands,” the FBI complaint said.
A man armed with a pink gun showed the wife it was loaded by opening the cylinder and then dragged her into a bathroom by her legs, the criminal complaint said.
The Durham Police and the FBI are actively investigating this shocking incident, aiming to bring the perpetrators to justice and provide support to the traumatized victims.
The Concern
While this is an isolated case, it raises the spector for other owners of cryptocurrency.
As we all have seen in the past, crime is often a question of perceiving possibilities. As criminals become aware of new opportunities it opens the door for others to mimic the new crime typology. We have seen this in home invasions in the past, turning it into a whole new wave of crime.
What is concerning here, however, is that with the advent of Pig Butchering cryptocurrency investment scams, victims lose their crypto in the scam. But law enforcement is becoming particularly effective in tracing and recovering lost cryptocurrency. Because this is being done by law enforcement, public prosecutors, and the courts, there is a high risk that victims will be identified – making them a potential target.
We have seen how public officials, in their zeal to create fame for themselves have identified the identity of the victims in cases of recovered cryptocurrency. In many jurisdictions, the associated court records may also be accessible to the public. These can place the scam victims who lost and then recovered their cryptocurrency at risk of becoming targets for criminals just like those mentioned above.
We urge all law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts to make sure that the identities of scam victims who lost cryptocurrency and later had it recovered remain sealed and confidential! Otherwise the risk becomes all to great.
Cryptocurrency Home Invasion Armed Robbery – on ScamsNOW.com
Cryptocurrency Home Invasion Armed Robbery - on ScamsNOW.com
Resources:
- Sign up for SCARS professional support & recovery groups, visit support.AgainstScams.org
- Find competent trauma counselors or therapists, visit counseling.AgainstScams.org
- Become a SCARS Member and get free counseling benefits, visit membership.AgainstScams.org
- Report each and every crime, learn how to at reporting.AgainstScams.org
- Learn more about Scams & Scammers at RomanceScamsNOW.com and ScamsNOW.com
- Self-Help Books for Scam Victims are at shop.AgainsstScams.org
More:
-/ 30 /-
What do you think about this?
Please share your thoughts in a comment below!
More ScamsNOW.com Articles
-/ 30 /-
What do you think about this?
Please share your thoughts in a comment above!
SCARS LINKS: AgainstScams.org RomanceScamsNOW.com ContraEstafas.org ScammerPhotos.com Anyscam.com ScamsNOW.com
reporting.AgainstScams.org support.AgainstScams.org membership.AgainstScams.org donate.AgainstScams.org shop.AgainstScams.org
youtube.AgainstScams.org linkedin.AgainstScams.org facebook.AgainstScams.org
ARTICLE RATING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
META
CATEGORIES
MOST POPULAR COMMENTED ARTICLES
POPULAR ARTICLES
U.S. & Canada Suicide Lifeline 988
WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT
LATEST SITE COMMENTS
See Comments for this Article at the Bottom of the Page
on Salience-Driven Attentional Capture and Sustained Elaboration – That Aha-Moment Scam Victims Experience – 2025: “The last chat made it clear to me: I was cheated. Shock.From then on, all my thoughts were directed to…” May 30, 08:25
on Scam Victims: Applying Boundaries When Compassion Is Required Instead – 2023: “Finally telling my family the truth lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. It was probably the most difficult conversations…” May 29, 15:12
on Vulnerability and Breakdown in Scam Victims – The Camel’s Back Syndrome Metaphor – 2024: “This comparison to the Camel’s Back really helped me identify how things played out for me during my crime. And…” May 25, 15:56
on Chasing Justice in Ghana – A Romance Scam Victim’s Story – A Short Story – 2025: “This is indeed sad, that’s how it works in every scam cases, each has its own story to tell, only…” May 25, 07:20
on Chasing Justice in Ghana – A Romance Scam Victim’s Story – A Short Story – 2025: “Although “made up”, it’s certainly a story that is happening around the world every day. Thankfully most “victims” do not…” May 22, 14:58
on Chasing Justice in Ghana – A Romance Scam Victim’s Story – A Short Story – 2025: “La cruda realidad cuando has sido víctima de estafa, lamentablemente esta es una historia que han vivido muchas personas tristemente…” May 22, 11:57
on Make a Plan, Any Plan, Even a Bad Plan Is Better Than No Plan – 2025: “It is true. A plan, however doubtful, is a step forward, boosting self-esteem, self-confidence and belief in yourself.” May 22, 07:26
Important Information for New Scam Victims
Please visit www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims & Sextortion Victims
SCARS Institute now offers a free recovery program at www.SCARSeducation.org
Please visit www.ScamPsychology.org – to more fully understand the psychological concepts involved in scams and scam victim recovery
If you are looking for local trauma counselors, please visit counseling.AgainstScams.org
If you need to speak with someone now, you can dial 988 or find phone numbers for crisis hotlines all around the world here: www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
Statement About Victim Blaming
Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and not to blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and help victims avoid scams in the future. At times, this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims; we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens, and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
SCARS INSTITUTE RESOURCES:
IF YOU HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY A SCAM OR CYBERCRIME
♦ If you are a victim of scams, go to www.ScamVictimsSupport.org for real knowledge and help
♦ Enroll in SCARS Scam Survivor’s School now at www.SCARSeducation.org
♦ To report criminals, visit https://reporting.AgainstScams.org – we will NEVER give your data to money recovery companies like some do!
♦ Follow us and find our podcasts, webinars, and helpful videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RomancescamsNowcom
♦ Learn about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
♦ Dig deeper into the reality of scams, fraud, and cybercrime at www.ScamsNOW.com and www.RomanceScamsNOW.com
♦ Scam Survivor’s Stories: www.ScamSurvivorStories.org
♦ For Scam Victim Advocates visit www.ScamVictimsAdvocates.org
♦ See more scammer photos on www.ScammerPhotos.com
You can also find the SCARS Institute on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and TruthSocial
Psychology Disclaimer:
All articles about psychology and the human brain on this website are for information & education only
The information provided in this and other SCARS articles are intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.
Note about Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices have the potential to create psychological distress for some individuals. Please consult a mental health professional or experienced meditation instructor for guidance should you encounter difficulties.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.
If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.
Also read our SCARS Institute Statement about Professional Care for Scam Victims – click here
If you are in crisis, feeling desperate, or in despair, please call 988 or your local crisis hotline.
More ScamsNOW.com Articles
A Question of Trust
At the SCARS Institute, we invite you to do your own research on the topics we speak about and publish. Our team investigates the subject being discussed, especially when it comes to understanding the scam victims-survivors’ experience. You can do Google searches, but in many cases, you will have to wade through scientific papers and studies. However, remember that biases and perspectives matter and influence the outcome. Regardless, we encourage you to explore these topics as thoroughly as you can for your own awareness.
