$40 Million+ US Govt Crypto Heist Leads To Contractor Exec’s Son: ZachXBT

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-01-26Last updated on 2026-01-26

Abstract

On-chain investigator ZachXBT alleges that over $40 million was stolen from US government cryptocurrency seizure wallets, tracing the theft to John Daghita, also known as "Lick." The investigation suggests a connection to Daghita’s father, who owns Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a company with an active US government contract to assist the US Marshals Service in managing seized crypto assets. ZachXBT’s findings are based on recorded Telegram chats and wallet transactions, including a public dispute where Daghita displayed control over wallets containing millions in crypto. The funds are linked to earlier government seizures, including assets from the Bitfinex hack. Following the allegations, CMDSS’s online presence was deactivated. The incident has raised significant concerns among commentators, calling it a national security crisis and urging legislative action.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT says a $40 million-plus theft from US government crypto seizure wallets may trace back to John Daghita, an alleged threat actor who goes by “Lick,” and a contractor relationship tied to Daghita’s family.

The $40 Million+ Govt Crypto Wallet Robbery

In a Jan. 25 post, ZachXBT pointed to Command Services & Support (CMDSS), describing it as a firm with “an active IT government contract in Virginia,” and alleging it was “awarded a contract to assist the USMS in managing/disposing of seized/forfeited crypto assets.” ZachXBT added: “It still remains unclear at this point how John obtained access from his dad.”

The allegation lands against a backdrop of earlier tracing work published Jan. 23, where ZachXBT linked wallet activity and recorded chats to the same persona. “Meet the threat actor John (Lick), who was caught flexing $23M in a wallet address directly tied to $90M+ in suspected thefts from the US Government in 2024 and multiple other unidentified victims from Nov 2025 to Dec 2025,” ZachXBT wrote.

ZachXBT’s thread centers on a dispute in a Telegram group chat between “John” and another threat actor, Dritan Kapplani Jr., in what the community calls “band for band (b4b)”, an on-the-spot contest to prove who controls more funds. ZachXBT said the interaction was “fully recorded,” and claims the footage includes screen-shared wallet balances and contemporaneous transfers that help establish control.

According to the thread, the recording shows John screen-sharing an Exodus wallet displaying a Tron address holding $2.3 million. In a second segment, ZachXBT said “another $6.7M worth of ETH” moved into an Ethereum address while the argument continued.

ZachXBT framed the key evidentiary point as ownership continuity across addresses: “The recording captures that John clearly controls both addresses. Additional addresses can likely be found in the recordings. I then began tracing backwards to verify the source of funds.”

That tracing, ZachXBT said, connects the cluster to a March 2024 transfer of $24.9 million from a US government address tied to the Bitfinex crypto hack seizure. He also claimed $18.5 million “currently sits” at a cited address.

Beyond that 2024 linkage, ZachXBT asserted the primary address he tracked was tied to “$63M+ inflows from suspected victims and government seizure addresses in Q4 2025,” listing multiple transactions and chains, and separately flagged an additional 4.17K ETH ($12.4 million) flow from MEXC into the same cluster.

The Jan. 25 post attempts to explain a potential access path: if CMDSS was involved in US Marshals Service crypto asset management, the question becomes whether contractor-side systems, credentials, or processes provided an opening, intentionally or otherwise. ZachXBT stressed that the exact mechanism remains unknown.

Shortly after the post, ZachXBT said CMDSS’s X account, website, and LinkedIn “were all just deactivated,” and claimed Daghita “began trolling again on Telegram.”

On X, the claims drew sharp reactions from prominent Bitcoin commentators. Nakamoto Inc. CEO David Bailey wrote: “The son of the CEO of the company hired by the US Marshalls to safeguard the nation’s Bitcoin, stole $40m from it and now appears to be running. Treasury must secure the private keys from the Justice Department ASAP before more is stolen.”

Prominent Bitcoin advocate and co-founder of the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute Pierre Rochard framed the situation in national-security terms, posting, “This is a national security crisis,” and urging Congress to pass the BITCOIN Act.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $87,847.

Bitcoin remains between the 0.618 and 0.786 Fib, 1-week chart | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com

Related Questions

QWho is alleged to be responsible for the $40 million-plus theft from US government crypto seizure wallets?

AJohn Daghita, an alleged threat actor who goes by 'Lick'.

QWhich company, with a government contract, is alleged to be connected to the theft and is owned by John Daghita's father?

ACommand Services & Support (CMDSS).

QWhat key piece of evidence did ZachXBT use to link John Daghita to the stolen funds?

AA recorded Telegram group chat where John screen-shared wallet balances and made contemporaneous transfers, proving control of the addresses holding the funds.

QFrom which specific US government seizure were a significant portion of the stolen funds ($24.9M) traced back to?

AThe Bitfinex crypto hack seizure.

QHow did prominent Bitcoin commentator Pierre Rochard describe the situation?

AHe framed it as a 'national security crisis' and urged Congress to pass the BITCOIN Act.

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