Individual whose parents were abducted following a $245 million Bitcoin heist has admitted guilt to federal accusations. A Connecticut resident whose parents were kidnapped after he participated in a $245 million Bitcoin theft has confessed to charges of fraud and money laundering conspiracy and has agreed to provide testimony against his co-conspirators, per court records unsealed this week. Veer Chetal, 19, from Danbury, Connecticut, was one of three individuals accused of stealing 4,100 Bitcoins from a victim in Washington, D.C., through a sophisticated online scheme last August. The group lived extravagantly post-heist, spending millions on vehicles, jewelry, rented mansions, and nightclub events, according to prosecutors. A week after the theft, Chetal’s parents were attacked and briefly abducted in Danbury in a failed extortion attempt targeting Chetal, whom the assailants believed possessed significant cryptocurrency, officials stated. Chetal’s criminal case was revealed on Monday in federal court in Washington, disclosing his guilty pleas in November and his commitment to assist federal authorities investigating the Bitcoin theft. It also uncovered new claims that he was involved in approximately 50 similar thefts, amassing an additional $3 million between November 2023 and September 2024. Another individual charged in the Bitcoin heist, Malone Lam, was among 13 people indicted by a federal grand jury in May for an alleged online racketeering conspiracy involving cryptocurrency thefts across the U.S. and abroad, totaling over $260 million, including the $245 million Bitcoin theft. Chetal faces 19 to 24 years in prison, a fine ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, and restitution to the victim yet to be determined, according to federal sentencing guidelines and his plea deal. His attorney, David Weinstein, declined to comment, noting that Chetal’s case remains ongoing. In September, federal agents with a search warrant raided Chetal’s apartment in Brunswick, New Jersey, and his parents’ home in Danbury in connection with the $245 million Bitcoin heist. Authorities reported finding over $500,000 in cash, costly jewelry, watches, and high-end clothing. Federal agents also noted that Chetal surrendered $39 million worth of cryptocurrency to investigators. Authorities alleged that Chetal, Lam, and Jeandiel Serrano engaged in online “social engineering” attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders. Lam would send victims notifications about unauthorized access attempts to their crypto accounts, while the others would contact victims, impersonating representatives from reputable companies like Google and Yahoo to gain access to their accounts, officials said. Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Lam and Serrano on Friday. A week after the theft, six Florida men were accused of abducting Chetal’s parents in broad daylight in Danbury. One of them crashed a vehicle into the parents’ Lamborghini, while others arrived in a van, police said. The attackers forced the couple out of their car, assaulted them, placed them in the van, and restrained them, police reported. The scheme was thwarted, and the attackers were apprehended quickly due to eyewitnesses who promptly contacted police and an off-duty FBI agent who happened to be driving by during the kidnapping, authorities said. Federal agents noted that a seventh man, later arrested in connection with the kidnapping, had previously clashed physically with Chetal at a Miami nightclub. The assault on the couple reflects a growing global trend of robbers using violence to steal cryptocurrency. Chetal, who was attending Rutgers University in New Jersey during the $245 million theft and later withdrew, was born in India and moved to the U.S. with his family at age 4 in 2010, according to court documents. His father received a foreign worker’s visa, and his wife and children obtained related dependent visas. Federal authorities indicated that Chetal could face deportation due to the criminal case. Authorities noted that Chetal’s father lost his job at Morgan Stanley because of the kidnapping and his son’s involvement. Chetal was initially released from federal custody on his own recognizance. However, a judge ordered him detained until trial earlier this year after federal prosecutors discovered that Chetal was involved in another $2 million crypto theft in October, which he failed to disclose after beginning cooperation with federal authorities.