An elderly North Carolina couple was held hostage at their home by gunmen who threatened to “cut off the husband’s toes and genitals, shoot and rape his wife,” before robbing them of more than $156,000 in cryptocurrency. , federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that, while posing as construction workers, Elmer Ruben Castro and Remy Ra St. Felix went to the couple’s home in Durham around 7:30 a.m. on April 12 and claimed they needed to inspect the pipelines for damage, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.
The complaint concerned Jarod Gabriel Seemungal, a third man who prosecutors say was responsible for finding the victims.
Castro and San Félix, dressed in reflective vests and khaki pants, told the couple, both 76, that they needed to tour their property looking for plumbing problems.
Soon after, the men knocked on the door a second time. When the wife responded, they forced their way into the house, restrained the couple and robbed them.
According to the complaint, the men traveled from Florida to North Carolina to commit the crime and had guarded the home for three days prior to the assault.
Castro and St. Felix, armed with pistols, allegedly held down and tied up the couple.
According to the complaint, Castro dragged the wife by her legs to the bathroom and held her. Apparently, Felix forced the husband into her home office, cut her zipper, and forced him to log into her Coinbase cryptocurrency account.
Prosecutors said Felix was on the phone with Seemungal, who told Felix how to get the husband to transfer the money from his account. Prosecutors said Seemungal knew details about her husband’s account, leading them to believe she had previously been compromised.
In the ensuing 45 minutes, the men allegedly stole $156,853 in three transactions. A fourth transaction was flagged and denied by Coinbase, according to the complaint.
Before leaving, the men vandalized the couple’s computer and phones and put the husband in the bathroom with his wife, according to the complaint.
The couple was later able to get to a neighbor’s house to ask for help. They suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital, the Raleigh NBC affiliate WRAL reported.
The husband told authorities that Felix was “very threatening” and “threatened to cut off his toes and genitals, shoot him, and rape his wife if he didn’t access his Coinbase account,” the complaint says. Felix also hit the man in the head, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said they obtained phone records showing the three men planning the robbery. They also had information pertaining to her husband, including a photo of his driver’s license and license plate number.
The complaint charges Seemungal and St. Felix with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. There was no criminal complaint against Castro.
Arrest warrants were issued for Seemungal and St. Lawyer on Thursday. The lawyer’s information was not available.
This article It was originally published in English by Minyvonne Burke and Cristian Santana for our sister network NBCNews.com. For more from NBC News enter here.
