Crypto-heist Ring to Stand Trial Over $240 Million Bitcoin Theft

Prosecutors say a group of eighteen crypto scammers stole about $240 million in bitcoin, laundered the proceeds through exchanges, and flaunted the loot with luxury cars, watches and nightlife while plotting extortion; several defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, with some forecasts of long prison terms (including around 14 years for one defendant), as the case moves toward trial. The FBI has recovered roughly $37 million in stolen crypto, and a judge likened the culprits’ lavish lifestyle to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gone bad.