A New York man was robbed at gunpoint for $1,100 worth of bitcoins, police said.
The 28-year-old victim told police he went to a street corner in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn on May 27 to meet a man interested in his Craigslist ad offering the cryptocurrency for sale, CNBC reported Friday.
The suspect then led the victim to a nearby car to complete the transaction, where another man sitting in the backseat pulled out a gun. The men forced the victim to electronically transfer the bitcoins before they drove with the victim’s cell phone, CNBC reported.
“It’s still under investigation,” a police spokeswoman told CNBC.
No surveillance video footage was taken of the incident.
CNBC notes that the robbery is eerily similar to an incident earlier this year, when a bitcoin dealer named Dean Katz said he was robbed at gunpoint by a man in Queens who had arranged to meet him. Mr. Katz said he was forced to transfer $8,500 worth of bitcoins and also was robbed of his cell phone. No arrests have been made in that case, CNBC said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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