Ex-LA officer sentenced to life for Bitcoin robbery

Ex-LA officer Eric Halem received life plus 15 years for kidnapping and robbing $350,000 in bitcoin from a teen. The judge cited greed and denied a retrial.

Eric Halem, a former Los Angeles police officer, has been sentenced to life imprisonment plus 15 years for his role in a December 2024 armed robbery. During the incident, Halem and three accomplices kidnapped a 17-year-old and stole a hard drive containing about $350,000 in bitcoin from an apartment in Koreatown. The group posed as police officers, wearing identification vests and using handcuffs, and threatened the victims with death to obtain the cryptocurrency. After a two-week trial, Halem was found guilty. The judge denied his request for a new trial, stating that Halem acted out of “pure and absolute greed.” Halem must serve most of the 15-year sentence before the life term begins and will be eligible for parole after seven years. Halem still faces additional charges in other criminal cases.