Bitcoin Bandit: 13 Years for Ontario Kidnapping

A kidnapping incident in the Toronto region, where captors demanded $1 million in Bitcoin, has seen new developments in court. One individual has been sentenced, while a juvenile awaits their judgment.

Keyron Moore, aged 39, has received a 13-year prison term, which accounts for three years already spent in custody. His conviction stems from involvement in the 2022 abduction, torture, and sexual assault of a woman identified as A.T.

Judge M. Townsend delivered

the ruling

in Newmarket on August 22nd. The sentence includes simultaneous punishments for unlawful confinement, sexual assault using a firearm, and irresponsibly discharging a firearm. Furthermore, Moore is permanently prohibited from owning weapons and must register as a sex offender for 20 years.

The sentencing also mentioned the other person charged, designated S.M. due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. It specified that Moore is forbidden from contacting S.M. while incarcerated. S.M. was found guilty in 2024 and is scheduled to receive their sentence on October 3 in Oshawa.

A legal

order

restricting publication and broadcast was put in place in March 2024 to safeguard the victim’s identity.

The crime took place on November 1, 2022. A.T. was forced into a vehicle at gunpoint outside a plaza in Thornhill. She was then transported to Barrie, held against her will in a garage, stripped of her clothing, physically assaulted, burned, and threatened with a syringe containing fentanyl. All the while, her captors demanded $1 million in Bitcoin, according to

official court documents

released by the Ontario Court of Justice in December of the previous year.

Detective Renwick, the coordinator for the investigation, noted that the perpetrators “repeatedly stated their desire for both money and cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin.”

During the traumatic event, Moore threatened to shoot A.T. unless she engaged in sexual acts. A.T. eventually managed to escape by fleeing through the garage door and seeking help at a neighbor’s residence.

This case is part of a growing trend of

violent crimes connected to digital currencies

, including incidents known as “$5 wrench attacks,” where individuals are physically forced to hand over their crypto assets.

Such events demonstrate how cryptocurrency has become a prime target for extortion. Legal systems and law enforcement are now treating demands for digital currency in ransom cases similarly to traditional cases involving armed robbery and kidnapping.

In her statement to the court, A.T. spoke of the ongoing and profound psychological trauma she continues to experience.

“I don’t venture out alone anymore. The fear is simply too overwhelming. I feel vulnerable, as if someone is always watching, waiting to attack. My heart pounds at the thought of someone approaching, following, or capturing me.”