19-Year-Old Pleads Guilty to $245 Million Bitcoin Theft

Veer Chetal, a 19-year-old from Danbury, Connecticut, has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a $245 million Bitcoin theft. Chetal, along with two co-defendants, Malone Lam and Jeandiel Serrano, was charged with stealing approximately 4,100 Bitcoins from a victim in Washington, D.C. The trio allegedly used the proceeds from the heist to fund a lavish lifestyle, spending millions on luxury items such as cars, jewelry, and rental mansions.

Chetal was secretly charged in November 2024 alongside co-defendants Malone Lam, 20, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, whom he reportedly met on a Minecraft server. Details of Chetal’s legal proceedings were unsealed last week by a federal district judge. As part of his plea, Chetal forfeited significant luxury items, including nearly 30 designer watches, high-end clothing, and over $36 million in Ethereum. He also agreed to cooperate against Lam and Serrano, a move that exposed him to a potential 19 to 24-year prison sentence.

Despite being released on bond, Chetal was re-arrested in late January 2025. Authorities discovered he had engaged in further illicit activities and discussed fleeing to India or Dubai, violating court orders. Notably, on October 21, 2024, Chetal allegedly orchestrated a $2 million social engineering theft from a New Jersey resident, tricking her into revealing her crypto wallet seed phrase. Investigators traced funds to an online gambling account and a non-KYC exchange, with Chetal’s IP address briefly leaking to his mother’s address during a VPN failure.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, in denying Chetal’s request for re-release, highlighted his casual attitude towards crime, noting he “secured $200,000 in illicit funds with a simple text message” and “gambled and lost all $200,000 on a single bet nine minutes later.” Prosecutors also deemed Chetal a significant flight risk due to his lack of U.S. citizenship and documented attempts to plan travel abroad.

Adding a dramatic layer to the case, a week after the original $245 million theft, Chetal’s parents were targeted in a kidnapping attempt by six masked men, a plot foiled by local police. The alleged mastermind of this kidnapping was James Schwab, 22, who is accused of orchestrating the attack from afar, having previously had an altercation with Chetal. Five of the six kidnappers have pleaded guilty, while Schwab pleaded not guilty.

Federal agents, with a search warrant, raided Chetal's Brunswick, New Jersey apartment and his parent’s home in Danbury in connection to the Bitcoin theft. Investigators found more than $500,000 in cash, expensive jewelry and watches, and luxury clothes. Federal agents also discovered that Chetal had about $39 million worth of digital assets, which he turned over to investigators. Authorities claimed that Chetal could face deportation as part of the criminal case.

During the hearing, one of the defendants, Michael Rivas, apologized for his actions. He said it was a dumb idea and he only did it to help one of the co-defendants who had a vendetta, although he did not elaborate. Meanwhile, his lawyer said that he only accepted to be a part of the gang in hopes of getting a share of the loot. At the time, there were reports of a Bitcoin theft where the assailants had been reportedly involved in a massive spending spree.