OpenAI founder Sam Altman’s ex-boyfriend was robbed at gunpoint, and $11 million in BTC and ETH was looted
There are reports of robberies targeting crypto assets. Last week in San Francisco, a suspect posing as a courier broke into the mansion of Sam Altman’s ex-boyfriend Lachy Groom, held him hostage for 90 minutes, and looted $11 million in crypto assets.
(Preliminary summary: Robbery of an exchange with imitation grenades! A 21-year-old Russian man was arrested on the spot)
(Background supplement: A man in Beishi sold fake coins and was actually robbed! 200,000 USDT were exchanged in a street fight, and all 7 traders were arrested)
According to the New York Post, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s ex-boyfriend and venture capitalist Lachy Groom was at his San Francisco Mission on the evening of the 22nd last week. Dolores' mansion was broken into at gunpoint, resulting in the loss of Bitcoin and Ethereum worth a total of US$11 million (approximately NT$360 million). Police said the incident took about 90 minutes and no suspects have been arrested.
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
Intrusion techniques of disguised express delivery
The surveillance screen showed a man holding a white package, claiming to be a UPS partner, and wanted to deliver the package to "Joshua". After Groom opened the door to confirm his identity, the suspect approached him for reasons such as asking for a signature and borrowing a pen, and then followed him inside with a gun drawn.
According to police sources, during the 90 minutes of being controlled, the suspect started a hands-free call on his mobile phone, and a person with a foreign accent on the other end of the phone continuously reported Groom’s personal information and directed the transfer of funds. In the end, all the Bitcoin and Ethereum in the cold wallet were emptied, and mobile phones and laptops were also looted.
This house, with a market value of approximately US$4.4 million, was purchased by Groom from the Altman brothers in 2021, which shows that the perpetrators had already investigated the owner’s background.
Organized attack and difficulty of tracing
Experts call this type of case where a private key is forced by violence as a "wrench attack." Groom’s experience reminds people in the high-net-worth currency circle that while hardware wallets and multiple signatures are important, “confidential wealth”, home alarms and identity confidentiality cannot be ignored either.
The San Francisco police are investigating based on on-site evidence and traces on the chain, but in the face of transnational criminal groups, it is not easy to recover US$11 million.
