U.S. Contractor Arrested In $46M Theft Of Government Crypto

John Daghita, an alleged U.S. authorities contractor accused of stealing greater than $46 million in cryptocurrency from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), was arrested final night time on the island of Saint Martin in a coordinated operation between the FBI and French authorities. 

The arrest, confirmed through tweet by FBI Director Kash Patel, concerned the French Gendarmerie’s elite tactical unit and the Worldwide Cooperation Group Critical Crime Unit.

“Due to the Worldwide Cooperation Group Critical Crime Unit of the French Gendarmerie Nationwide in Saint Martin, and the Groupe d’intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale of Guadeloupe for the excellent coordination,” Patel wrote. “The FBI will proceed working 24/7 with our worldwide companions to trace down, apprehend, and produce to justice those that try and defraud American taxpayers—regardless of the place they attempt to conceal.”

The case facilities on allegations that Daghita, recognized on-line by blockchain investigator ZachXBT as “Lick,” exploited insider entry to siphon digital belongings from government-linked wallets. 

Daghita is the son of Dean Daghita, president and CEO of Command Providers & Help (CMDSS), a Virginia-based expertise agency contracted by the USMS to handle and eliminate sure classes of seized cryptocurrency.

CMDSS was awarded the contract in October 2024 to deal with digital belongings not supported by main exchanges, together with funds tied to complicated legal instances and high-profile seizures, such because the 2016 Bitfinex hack. 

Daghita had entry to thousands and thousands in crypto

In response to ZachXBT, Daghita demonstrated the flexibility to maneuver thousands and thousands of {dollars} in actual time throughout a dispute recorded in a personal Telegram chat. Subsequent on-chain evaluation linked these wallets to addresses identified to carry government-seized belongings.

ZachXBT reported that one pockets allegedly managed by Daghita held 12,540 ether, valued at roughly $36 million at present costs. 

Different transaction trails recommend roughly $20 million was faraway from USMS-linked wallets in October 2024, most of which was returned inside a day, although roughly $700,000 routed via prompt exchanges was not recovered. 

Estimates of whole suspected thefts might exceed $90 million when accounting for exercise noticed in late 2025.

U.S. officers haven’t publicly detailed how Daghita allegedly accessed the crypto or the wallets, nor whether or not CMDSS’s inner controls had been bypassed or exploited. 

The case follows heightened scrutiny of the U.S. Marshals Service’s cryptocurrency holdings, which some analysts estimate at over 198,000 BTC, value tens of billions of {dollars}. 

Allegations of insider theft and improper administration have intensified requires reform in how federal companies safe and monitor digital belongings, particularly these seized from legal instances.