Three teenagers charged with robbery, kidnapping, and extortion after allegedly abducting a man at gunpoint and stealing $4 million in cryptocurrencies and NFTs

Key Insights: Three teenagers have been charged with robbery, kidnapping, and extortion in a case that began with a victim being abducted at gunpoint and forced into the back seat of a vehicle.

The suspects, identified as 16-year-old Belal Ashraf and 16-year-old Austin Fletcher, both from Pasco County, Florida, have been certified to be tried as adults by a juvenile court judge. A third teenage accomplice has reportedly fled the country.

The violent heist, which occurred last November at a business in Downtown Las Vegas, and the subsequent investigation were covered in a report by 8 News Now.

According to the report, the victim had hosted a cryptocurrency-related event at his business, where he met with several people interested in learning more about digital assets.

Upon returning to his apartment complex parking lot, the victim was approached by three young men, who forced him into the back seat of their vehicle at gunpoint.

The teens then placed a towel over the victim’s head to prevent him from seeing them and issued a chilling threat. If he complied, he would “live to see another day,” but if he resisted, they claimed they would kill him.

The teenagers demanded passwords and access to the victim’s financial accounts while threatening him throughout the ordeal. According to police reports, the teens appeared to be taking instructions from another person via speakerphone.

After gaining access to the victim’s crypto accounts, the suspects drove him across the Nevada border to White Hills. The teenagers abandoned the victim in the remote desert area and forced him to walk five miles alone until he reached a gas station.

From there, he called a friend for help and was eventually able to contact authorities about the $4 million theft of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Metropolitan Police were able to identify the three teenage suspects through careful investigation.

Investigators tracked a suspect vehicle traveling from Florida to Nevada that included stops at the victim’s apartment location.

In a separate but related development, police discovered during a vehicle stop in Mississippi that a gun belonging to a suspect’s family member matched one visible in one of the teenagers’ social media profiles.

The police investigation also revealed that the three teenagers had a history of behavioral issues at their Florida high school, where they were involved in multiple disturbances.

During recent court proceedings, Fletcher’s public defender argued for house arrest instead of jail time. However, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Daniel Westmeyer set bail at $4 million.