A court in British Columbia has detailed the harrowing events of a violent home invasion in 2024 that saw a Canadian family beaten, waterboarded, sexually assaulted, and robbed of $1.6 million in cryptocurrency.
The sentencing decision, released this month, outlines one of Canada’s most severe “wrench attack” cases.
Source: CanLIIAttackers Posed as Canada Post Workers Before Torturing Family for $1.6M in Crypto
According to the court document, the attack occurred on April 27–28, 2024, when four men forced their way into a family home after two of them disguised themselves as Canada Post workers delivering a package.
Once the father opened the door, the men pushed inside, shut the door behind them, and were joined moments later by two additional accomplices.
The husband, wife, and daughter were restrained with zip ties and subjected to hours of escalating violence as the attackers demanded access to the father’s digital assets.
Prosecutors said the man had previously spoken in the Chinese community about his cryptocurrency holdings, leading the group to believe he controlled substantial Bitcoin wealth.
The intruders initially demanded 200 BTC, then reduced the demand to 100 BTC when he was unable to comply. The assailants ultimately transferred about $1.6 million in crypto before fleeing the property.
Both parents were waterboarded and threatened with mutilation, while the daughter was forced to undress, filmed, and compelled to repeat explicit phrases.
One of the attackers sexually assaulted her as the group continued pressuring the family for access to their assets.
After the attackers tied the victims and wrapped them in blankets, a door shut, giving the daughter an opportunity to partially free herself.
She escaped the home and called 911, prompting the police investigation.
In May, one of the suspects, Tsz Wing Boaz Chan, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, unlawful confinement, and sexual assault.
He was sentenced earlier this month to seven years in prison. Authorities have not disclosed updates on the remaining suspects.
Global Wave of Violent Crypto Robberies Surges; France Leads With 14 Cases
The case comes at a time when physical attacks on crypto holders are rising sharply worldwide.
According to a CryptoNews report in September citing data compiled by Bitcoin security advocate Jameson Lopp, incidents in which criminals use physical force to obtain wallet credentials have surged 169% since February.
Lopp’s database now documents over 60 wrench-style attacks this year, surpassing 2024 by 33%. with France leading at 14 cases.
In the United States, a San Francisco resident was robbed of $11 million in cryptocurrency last weekend in a home invasion by a thief posing as a delivery driver, and no arrests have been announced.
Elsewhere, a series of high-profile kidnappings and violent extortion attempts have unfolded across Europe and Asia. In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were abducted in France in a 48-hour ordeal that left Balland with a severed finger.
French prosecutors say criminal networks are increasingly using fake delivery uniforms, stolen service vans, and pre-attack intelligence to target crypto holders and their families.
Attacks have also been reported in Thailand, Israel, Belgium, the U.K., and across the United States. In Chicago, six men were charged this year in a kidnapping scheme involving $15 million in stolen cryptocurrency.
In September, two Texas brothers were hit with federal kidnapping charges for allegedly holding a Minnesota family at gunpoint for nine hours while draining $8 million in cryptocurrency.
Analysts say the rise in physical crime parallels the sector’s economic growth. With Bitcoin and other assets increasing in value, attackers are shifting from digital theft to physical coercion.
A report from security firm CertiK found that crypto users lost $2.47 billion to hacks and scams in the first half of 2025, pushing some criminal networks toward violent offline methods instead.
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