French Couple Tied Up, Beaten and Targeted Three Times After Moving Into Crypto Millionaires' Former Home

A French couple who do not own cryptocurrency were tied up, beaten and targeted in three break-in attempts in under a month after moving into a house once owned by wealthy crypto investors, according to a case heard in a northern French court.

Their lawyer told the court that information linking the previous owners' cryptocurrency wealth to the address had been leaked on the dark web, leaving the new owners exposed. One victim was bound and the other assaulted in the second attack.

The case was heard at the Amiens criminal court on 10 August, where two men were sentenced over the third attempted break-in at the property near Montdidier in the Somme region.

Address Still Linked To Former Owners' Crypto Wealth

The couple had bought the house about two years earlier, according to ICI Picardie. Their lawyer, Giuseppina Marras, told the court that the previous owners were a wealthy retired couple who had held cryptocurrency and that their tax return and former address, now belonging to the new homeowners, had been exposed online.

'They bought their house in the wrong place, at the wrong time,' Marras said, according to the report. The first group broke into the property on 24 June but fled after being frightened by the family's dogs. Two days later, another group got inside the home.

Second Break-in Turns Violent and Is Filmed

During the second intrusion, one of the victims was tied up while the other was beaten, according to ICI Picardie. The assault was reportedly filmed live on Snapchat before the attackers realised the couple did not match the profile of the people they had apparently intended to find.

The attackers then left the property. The couple installed an alarm system after the incident. On 17 July, a third group approached the house but was reportedly scared away by the alarm before it could get inside.

Telegram 'Mission' To Target the House

Two men aged 20 and 21 appeared in court over the third attempted intrusion.

One defendant told the court he had accepted a 'mission' through Telegram for between €15,000 and €30,000 without knowing exactly what it involved, according to the report.

He said he wanted to repay about €4,000 in debt linked to his mother, who he said was facing eviction.

The second defendant, a rideshare driver, was reportedly paid €300 to drive the group from the Paris region to the Somme. The group carried a crowbar, balaclavas and cable ties, according to ICI Picardie.

DNA Trail on Motorway Toll Ticket

The third attempt triggered an investigation by the Montdidier gendarmerie's research brigade. Investigators examined CCTV footage and telephone records and found DNA evidence on a toll ticket from the A1 motorway, according to the report.

The two men were arrested on 7 August and placed in pre-trial detention. Both defendants had clean criminal records and admitted their involvement in court, according to ICI Picardie. One said they had acted out of 'stupidity, and greed', while the other described his time in custody as the 'worst days of my life'.

Couple Plan To Sell After Repeated Attacks

The younger defendant was sentenced to three years in prison, with 18 months to be served, while the other received an 18-month sentence, with nine months to be served. Both were ordered to remain in custody and were banned from entering the Somme department or contacting each other for three years.

They have 10 days to appeal, according to the French report. The couple now want to sell the house after the repeated attacks. 'They don't feel safe at all,' their lawyer said.

France Emerges as a Hub for Crypto-Linked Attacks

The case comes as physical attacks linked to cryptocurrency continue to be reported in France. CertiK recorded 52 verified crypto-related wrench attacks worldwide during the first half of 2026, including 33 in France, which accounted for 63.5% of its global total.

Home invasions rose to 20 cases from one during the same period a year earlier, according to the firm's July report. Jameson Lopp, a Bitcoin security researcher who tracks physical attacks involving cryptocurrency, highlighted the French case after it was reported.

'An inevitable development: people who buy houses formerly owned by wealthy bitcoiners are in physical danger,' Lopp wrote, adding that the French couple had no crypto but were targeted three times because their address appeared in data breaches.

Lopp's warning points to a problem that differs from a conventional crypto robbery. The person criminals are looking for may have moved, while the information identifying where that person once lived can remain accessible.