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, simply protecting your cryptocurrencies with a secure wallet has not been enough to guard against attacks and other thefts carried out on-chain. Indeed, criminals have implemented a radical and frightening shift in strategy, one that has now spilled over into the real world.
Proof of this is the alarming rise in attacks and kidnappings targeting identified figures in the crypto ecosystem, which have seen a sharp increase since the start 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 kidnapped 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 due to 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 was specifically a home invasion aimed at 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 this 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 region, involving the kidnapping of the CEO of Bastide Médical with the aim of stealing about ten luxury watches, for a haul estimated at one million euros. This shows that criminals are not solely targeting cryptocurrencies.
