Dallas Woman Indicted for Missing $570K Worth of Bitcoin

Joann Vasquez, a 38-year-old woman who lives in Grand Prairie is currently facing charges for her connection to a missing $570,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC).

According to a court document, the Dallas Police claimed that as of January last year, Joan had about $570,000 worth of Bitcoin acquired through account passwords stolen from a home in her possession. 

On the 25th of January, the police department received a call from a home at 3800 Block of Gaspar Drive in Dallas. According to the homesitter who made the call, when he got into the residence, he noticed that there was a broken window and signs of a burglary. 

While searching for indications of missing items in the apartment, the police discovered that a safe had been tampered with. The content of the safe was reported to be Bitcoin account passwords. The homeowners later reported that $570,000 worth of bitcoin had been siphoned from the account using the stolen passwords. 

Upon investigation, it was detected through the surveillance camera that a man had forcefully gained entrance into the apartment the previous day. 

At some minutes past noon, the man forced the gate and went in through the backyard. Later, he was seen peering through a glass door before he finally went out of sight. About half an hour later, he resurfaced carrying his loot. He then exited the building through the back door which he passed initially. 

Joann Vasquez in the Bitcoin Theft

From the CCTV viewing, the police noted that the intruder carried a gun, a Roomba, and an athletic bag that appeared to contain the missing safe. 

Along the line, he was identified as Michael Jason Neria and was arrested by the Dallas Police in March. After a series of examinations and probing, he admitted to the Gasper Drive home burglary and mentioned Joann Vasques as the person in possession of the BTC accounts and passwords. 

Michael affirmed that Joann had almost all the missing funds in her possession except $100,000 worth of the Bitcoin which was with him. In his defense, he claimed that she was aware that the funds came from a burglary. Joann has since been withdrawing the digital asset from BTC ATMs. So far, she has withdrawn about $9,400. 

All things considered, Joann has been sent to the Dallas County Jail.