30s Summary
The body found in Montreal’s Île-de-la-Visitation park has been identified as missing crypto influencer Kevin Mirshahi, who was kidnapped with three others in June. A woman named Joanie Lepage has been charged with his first-degree murder and the kidnappings. Mirshahi had been investigated by Quebec’s investment regulator for a possible ‘pump and dump’ scheme through his Crypto Paradise Island investment advice group. His death follows a separate crypto-related kidnapping in Toronto, and crypto crimes this year have included in-person P2P trade deceptions, home invasions and homicides.
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The body discovered in Île-de-la-Visitation park in Montreal, Canada on October 30 has been confirmed to be that of missing crypto influencer Kevin Mirshahi. This was reported by Montreal Gazette on November 12. 25-year-old Mirshahi had been missing since June 21 after he was kidnapped with three others from a condo in the city. The others were found a few hours later by the police.
A 32-year-old lady named Joanie Lepage has been charged with first-degree murder of Mirshahi and the kidnapping of him and the three others. The connection between her actions and Mirshahi’s work in the crypto arena is still unclear.
Mirshahi was the brains behind a crypto investment scheme, Crypto Paradise Island. This was a paid Telegram group that provided investment advice. Unfortunately, it was also implicated in a “pump and dump” scheme involving a token called Marsan ($MRS) where several of its members, many of them teenagers, lost thousands of dollars. As a result of this shady activity, Mirshahi and his business were under investigation by Quebec’s investment regulator, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
Despite this, Mirshahi still continued to run a Telegram group promoting crypto investments under the nickname “Amir.”
In other related news, a crypto-linked kidnapping occured in Toronto just a week prior to Mirshahi’s body being found. Dean Skurka, the CEO of crypto holding company WonderFi, was kidnapped and paid a ransom of nearly $720,660 before being released.
This is not the only instance of physical crime related to cryptocurrency, however. So far this year, Jameson Lopp, co-founder and Chief Security Officer of Casa, has recorded 18 incidents of crime involving crypto. These range from investors being tricked by attackers into doing in-person P2P trades, to home invasions, and even homicides.