Former LAPD officer gets life plus 15 years in $350K Bitcoin robbery case

Former Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer Eric Halem was sentenced to life in prison plus 15 years after a jury convicted him in a December 2024 home invasion in Los Angeles Koreatown that prosecutors said targeted a teenager’s Bitcoin holdings. Judge Mildred Escobedo rejected Halem’s bid for a new trial before imposing concurrent life terms for kidnapping and robbery, and the district attorney’s office said he becomes eligible for parole after seven years. Prosecutors said Halem and three other men entered the apartment around 2:30 a.m. wearing vests identifying themselves as police, used an access code supplied by a conspirator who had rented the unit, handcuffed two victims, moved funds out of their cryptocurrency account and stole cash and jewellery. Halem, who had left the department nearly two years earlier but was still a reserve officer at the time, also faces separate charges tied to alleged insurance fraud and another crypto robbery. The case reflects a broader rise in so-called wrench attacks, in which criminals use violence or threats to force access to digital assets.