In December 2024, Eric Halem, a former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer who robbed $350,000 worth of Bitcoin in LA Koreatown, was sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 15 years. According to The Block, Halem, along with three accomplices, broke into an apartment and threatened a 17-year-old victim to steal a hard drive containing $350,000 worth of BTC. Halem appealed for a retrial, but the court rejected it, stating that Halem's motive for the crime was impure.
