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Brooklyn Man Robbed at Gunpoint for $1,100 in Bitcoin, Police Say

By Rachel Holliday Smith | June 5, 2015 10:37am | Updated on June 8, 2015 8:54am
 Police said a 28-year-old man was robbed of $1,100 in bitcoin by gunpoint in Crown Heights last week.
Police said a 28-year-old man was robbed of $1,100 in bitcoin by gunpoint in Crown Heights last week.
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CROWN HEIGHTS — It was a real-life mugging for some virtual cash.

A 28-year-old Crown Heights man was forced at gunpoint to transfer more than $1,100 of the digital currency bitcoin into his attackers' bank account last week after a Craigslist meet-up to sell the virtual money went south, local police said.

The victim set up a meeting through an online listing to meet a man he thought would buy his bitcoins at Troy Avenue and Crown Street on May 27, officials said. When he got to the corner, the stranger led him to a silver Honda where he said they’d finalize the deal.

But once inside the car, a second man pulled a gun on the victim from the backseat, forcing him to transfer the bitcoin funds to the two robbers. The virtual thieves then stole the victim’s cell phone and fled, police said.

The victim says he lost a total of $1,100 in bitcoin. The suspects had not been identified as of Thursday, police said.

For the latest look at recent crime trends in the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, take a look at the below map from DNAinfo New York: