An American investor, identified as the ex-boyfriend of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has just been the victim of a heist at his home. The theft is estimated at $11 million in cryptocurrency.
An $11 Million Crypto Heist
For some time now, it has no longer been enough to protect one’s cryptocurrencies with a secure wallet to guard against on-chain attacks and theft. In fact, criminals have made a radical and alarming shift in strategy, one that has now spilled over into the real world.
Evidence of this is the alarming rise in attacks and kidnappings targeting well-known figures in the crypto ecosystem, which have increased significantly since the beginning of the year. A major turning point in this situation occurred in late January with the case of the co-founder of Ledger and his wife, who were held captive and tortured to extort $10 million from them.
Although France ranks low among the most targeted countries, other nations are also affected. In fact, a new case of this type has just made headlines in American newspapers, particularly because of the victim’s identity.
The story, reported in the New York Post, involves “the ex-boyfriend of ChatGPT’s CEO,” Sam Altman, who resides in San Francisco. According to preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation, the incident appears to have been a robbery carried out at his home, with the aim of extorting $11 million in cryptocurrency from him.
A targeted attack carried out by an organized criminal group
According to available information, the robber reportedly arrived at the victim’s home posing as a UPS delivery driver. To avoid arousing suspicion, he gave the first name of the crypto investor, who naturally opened the door for him.
Robber posing as a delivery driver steals $11,000,000 in crypto after pulling a gun and duct-taping the victim in San Francisco pic.twitter.com/Jny8HfVvGC
— BAY AREA STATE OF MIND (@YayAreaNews) November 24, 2025
The thief then asked him to sign for the package so he could enter the house to find a pen. Once inside, he pulled out a gun, pointed it at the victim, tied him up with duct tape, and beat him to gain access to his crypto wallet.
According to available investigation details, the thief reportedly made off with $11 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as the resident’s smartphone and laptop, in what already appears to be “a targeted attack carried out by an organized criminal group.”
Notably, a similar incident recently occurred in the Gard department, where the CEO of the company Bastide Médical was held hostage in order to steal about ten luxury watches, with the haul estimated at one million euros. This shows that criminals are not solely targeting cryptocurrencies.
