PANews reported on January 31 that according to Cointelegraph, seven British gang members were convicted and sentenced to prison for kidnapping, torturing and extorting a cryptocurrency investor. The victim was first blackmailed in January 2023, when gang member Scott Armstrong asked him to transfer cryptocurrency. Fearing for his life, the victim was forced to transfer 100,000 pounds (about 124,000 US dollars) worth of cryptocurrency. Subsequently, gang member David Povey and others came to the door again with knives to threaten the victim and force him to hand over more funds. The victim was targeted many times in a few months and finally chose to call the police.