Chetal Re-arrested for $3 Million in Crypto Thefts While on Bond

Veer Chetal, a 19-year-old from Danbury, Connecticut, known by the alias “Wiz,” was re-arrested for violating his release agreement. Chetal had previously pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges related to a $245 million Bitcoin theft from a Genesis creditor in August of the same year. Despite his guilty plea and promise to testify against his co-defendants, Chetal was released on bond with the expectation that he would reform his behavior. However, he continued his criminal activities, leading to his re-arrest.

Chetal’s legal proceedings were made public last week when a federal district judge in Washington ordered the documents unsealed. It was revealed that Chetal was involved in additional crimes, including 50 similar thefts that totaled $3 million between November 2023 and September 2024. One of these crimes was a $2 million social engineering theft that occurred while he was released on bond on October 21, 2024. Chetal targeted a New Jersey resident, convincing her that she was speaking to a Gemini exchange support member before obtaining the seed phrase to her crypto wallet.

Blockchain tracing revealed that the stolen funds were transferred to an online gambling account and to the exchange eXch, a non-KYC exchange favored by illicit actors. Chetal’s use of a VPN to access the account where $200,000 of the stolen funds were deposited briefly failed, exposing his true IP address. Investigators traced the IP address to Chetal’s mother and obtained phone records from T-Mobile that placed him at the scene. Despite his attempts to conceal his actions, Chetal’s activities were uncovered, leading to his re-arrest.

Chetal’s actions demonstrated a lack of remorse and a continued disregard for the law. According to U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who denied Chetal’s request to be re-released on bond, Chetal admitted to securing $200,000 in illicit funds with a simple text message. He then gambled and lost the entire amount on a single bet nine minutes later. This behavior, along with his lack of U.S. citizenship and desire to travel abroad, has led authorities to deem him a flight risk. Defense filings show that Chetal booked an Indian university entrance exam and inquired about colleges in Dubai after pleading guilty, further raising concerns about his intentions.

Chetal’s criminal activities have had severe consequences for his family. Shortly after the original $245 million theft, a group of six men attempted to kidnap Chetal’s parents. The kidnappers were thwarted by local police officers, who arrested the suspects and rescued Chetal’s parents, who were bound and injured. Chetal’s father reportedly suffered severe facial and arm injuries and lost his job at a financial institution due to the incident. The man behind the kidnapping plot, James Schwab, 22, of Georgia, was identified as the orchestrator. Schwab, who had an altercation with Chetal in a Miami nightclub in July 2024, provided funding and arranged transportation and lodging for the kidnappers. Schwab pleaded not guilty, but five of the six kidnappers he hired have pleaded guilty. One of the kidnapping suspects, Anthony Pena, has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, while the remaining suspects await sentencing or trial.