Four men were taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and charged with intent to kidnap and rob a Florida jeweler of $2 million in cryptocurrency.
Agents arrested Evan Puckett, Tre’von Anthony Neal, Zacary Briggs and Aaron Hammond on charges of kidnapping conspiracy, attempted kidnapping, robbery conspiracy and attempted extortion, according to a criminal complaint the US district court filed in the southern district of Florida last week.
According to the filing, a confidential source approached law enforcement around January 6, with information that sometime in the next two weeks, one of the conspirators would put together a group to kidnap a jeweler who worked in the Seybold building in Miami. The man was in touch with the jeweler online about exchanging watches for cryptocurrency. The conspirator included the confidential source in a chat group with the rest of his “goons,” as he called them, and shared screenshots of the jeweler’s cryptocurrency wallet, which showed it contained approximately $2 million.
The group then put together a “play,” or plot, including the intention to borrow a vehicle for the kidnapping, which an undercover agent delivered and was wired with audio and video recording devices. In a recorded call, one of the gang can be heard saying that “one knock,” or “one good bop should do it” but that they didn’t want to give the victim “brain damage.” The group was also in possession of multiple weapons, including two guns and a knife, according to the complaint.
As the four men approached the kidnapping vehicle, law enforcement arrived and ordered all four to the ground. Three attempted to flee, but were quickly apprehended, while the fourth, Neal, managed to get away but was captured at a nearby business shortly thereafter, the filing noted.
“Puckett admitted to law enforcement that the kidnapping group intended to rob the victim for his cryptocurrency,” while Hammond said the group’s plan was to “lure the jeweler to the car, rob him and then let him go,” it read.
Images: Zacary Briggs, Aaron Hammond, Tre’von Neal and Evan Puckett. (Jewelers’ Security Alliance)
