Eric Hailam, a former Los Angeles police officer, has been sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 15 years in prison for stealing $350,000 worth of cryptocurrency from a 17-year-old teenager, reports the Los Angeles Times. In 2024, Hailam and three accomplices, posing as police officers, broke into an apartment and, threatening to kill the teen, took a hard drive containing keys to cryptocurrency wallets.
Hailam requested a review of the case on the grounds that his initial attorneys did not call witnesses or examine key evidence. However, Judge Mildred Escobedo denied this motion, noting that the evidence presented in court showed Hailam acted out of "pure and absolute greed," adding that "no other conclusion could be drawn."
In August 2025, it was reported that during this robbery, in addition to cryptocurrency, cash and jewelry were stolen. According to the investigation, the ex-cop and his accomplices arrived at the robbery in a green Range Rover and an orange Lamborghini Urus. According to former colleagues, he was considering creating a reality show about his life.
The teenager who was attacked had amassed a small fortune in cryptocurrency, partly through fraud. During sentencing, the judge noted that Hailam attacked people who "might not be considered victims because they themselves were criminals," but that did not justify his actions. Abusing authority by impersonating a police officer is "despicable and outrageous," Escobedo said.
Hailam must serve most of his 15-year sentence before he begins his life sentence. He will be eligible to apply for parole after seven years.
Hailam also faces charges in separate cases related to insurance fraud and another alleged cryptocurrency robbery. His accomplices still have to stand trial.
As the crypto industry develops, attacks on cryptocurrency owners have become more frequent. And if a few years ago, coin theft mostly occurred through hacks of wallets and crypto services, now the number of physical attacks is increasing—cybersecurity has become harder to breach than to obtain passwords through threats of violence.
One security expert, Jameson Lopp, maintains a publicly accessible database of physical attacks on cryptocurrency owners worldwide. In 2024, the list noted 32 cases; in 2025, 74 incidents. Since the beginning of 2026, 49 attacks have already been recorded.
Lopp's database is indicative, but it does not capture all crimes. According to data from French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez at the beginning of July, in France alone, 77 incidents occurred in half a year.
