Contractor's Son Charged with Stealing $46 Million in Crypto from US Marshals

A joint operation between the FBI and France's elite Gendarmerie Special Intervention Group led to the arrest in Saint Martin of a government contractor employee suspected of stealing cryptocurrency assets from the U.S. Marshals Service. He is accused of illegally transferring over $46 million in digital currency, with some funds traced to seized wallets related to the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack.

Blockchain intelligence expert ZachXBT had previously submitted the involved wallet addresses to law enforcement, pointing out that the related abnormal transaction chain involved suspicious fund flows totaling over $90 million. Notably, these funds belong to digital assets held in custody by the U.S. Marshals Service, which is currently a major custodian of U.S. Bitcoin reserves.

A 2025 CoinDesk investigation revealed that the Marshals Service has long struggled with reconciliation issues in managing its digital asset accounts. This incident further raises concerns about the security mechanisms of government agencies' digital assets. Previously, competitor Wave Digital Assets had filed a formal protest against the contractor CMDSS, questioning its qualifications and alleging conflicts of interest, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) dismissed the protest at the time. As of now, official details of the criminal charges have not been released. The individual involved is expected to face extradition proceedings and further investigation by the U.S. justice system.