BlockBeats News, May 10th, Three teenagers from Florida have been accused of gunpoint kidnapping a man, taking him to a remote desert area an hour outside of Las Vegas, and stealing $4 million worth of cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Belal Ashraf and Austin Fletcher, both 16, from Pasco County, and another teenager face charges including robbery, kidnapping, and extortion, records show. A juvenile court judge had previously ruled Ashraf and Fletcher to be treated as adults.

Prosecutors said during Friday's Fletcher's probable cause hearing that the third teenager is no longer in the United States. The prosecutors stated that the individuals are accused of stealing $4 million worth of cryptocurrency and NFTs. Last November, a man reported that three youths had kidnapped him at gunpoint, taken him to a remote desert area, and stolen millions of dollars in assets from him, the documents show.

That evening, the victim had attended a cryptocurrency-related event at a business in downtown Las Vegas, police said. The victim later returned to his apartment building and parked his car. The three suspects then approached him, forced him into the back seat of their vehicle. The documents state: "(The victim) was told that if he cooperated, he would live to see tomorrow; if he did not cooperate, they had control of his father and would kill him." "(The victim) had a towel placed over his head, and was admonished by the suspects not to look at them."

Police said the young men demanded the victim provide his password and threatened him to gain access to his financial accounts. The victim could also hear through a phone speaker that the suspects seemed to be talking directly to someone else on the phone. Police suspect that these three individuals then took the victim to the White Mountains area in Arizona, more than 70 miles from Las Vegas, with over an hour's drive. The victim walked alone in the desert for five miles before reaching a gas station, from where he called a friend to pick him up.