The body of Kevin Mirshahi, a crypto influencer who was abducted from a condo in June, was found at a park in Montreal, Canada, according to local media reports.
Mirshahi’s decomposing remains were discovered by a passerby at the Île-de-la-Visitation park on Oct. 30, police told The Gazette, a Montreal news outlet.
An autopsy confirmed the body’s identity as Mirshahi, The Gazette <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/body-of-abducted-cryptocurrency-influencer-kevin-mirshahi-found-in-montreal-park" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> in the Nov. 13 report.
The 25-year-old was last seen on June 21 when he and three others were abducted from a condo building in Montreal, The Gazette <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/old-montreal-kidnapping-three-victims-located-one-still-missing" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">reported</a> at the time. The three other abductees managed to escape.
The incident adds to a concerning trend of crypto executive and influencer abductions and murders, often motivated by the intent to steal — or recover — large sums of money.
<figure><img alt="Canada, Quebec, Crimes, Cryptocurrency Investment" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/019328d7-7d6e-72c1-92af-8944905a4abf" title="">
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 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/JdeQuebec/status/1856376091377602875" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="https://x.com/JdeQuebec/status/1856376091377602875">Le Journal de Québec</a>
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Last week, the CEO of Canadian-based WonderFi, Dean Skurka, was reportedly abducted and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-ceo-kidnapped-forced-pay-1-million-ransom" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">forced to pay a $1 million ransom</a> for his release.
Mirshahi’s investigation is still ongoing. However, The Gazette noted that local police arrested a 32-year-old woman named Joanie Lepage in August, who was charged with the first-degree murder of Mirshahi.
Related:<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/man-tried-recover-losses-bitconnect-ponzi-kidnap-extortion" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null"> Man allegedly tries to ‘recover’ losses from BitConnect, kidnapping two</a>
Mirshahi was well-known in the Montreal crypto community, previously owning and operating a private crypto investment firm called “Crypto Paradise Island.”
While it isn’t clear whether Lepage was an investor in Crypto Paradise Island, X user “Bibi” <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/bibizyatitiz/status/1805045363138494969" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">claimed</a> he had been scammed by Mirshahi, while others also referred to Mirshahi as a scammer.
Mirshahi was also known to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/canadian-regulators-are-looking-to-investor-protection-with-stablecoin-rules-ciro" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">Québec’s investment regulator,</a> which banned Mirshahi and two others from carrying out activities as a broker or investment adviser in 2021 or soon after.
He was also ordered to stop posting related <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/podcasts/hashing-it-out/decentralized-social-media-explained-with-ryan-li-co-founder-of-cyberconnect" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">content on social media.</a>
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers extended that ban on July 4 — about two weeks after Mirshahi was abducted.
In July, four suspects were arrested for allegedly<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/four-suspected-killing-bitcoiner-stealing-170000-dollars" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null"> kidnapping and murdering</a> a 29-year-old foreign national Bitcoiner in Kyiv, Ukraine, and stealing $170,000 worth of Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC</a>).
In August, six Malaysian nationals were charged with<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/malaysians-kidnap-chinese-demand-1-million-usdt-ransom" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null"> kidnapping a Chinese national</a> and demanding a ransom of $1 million worth of stablecoin Tether (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDT</a>).
Magazine:<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/china-usdt-scam-indodaxs-free-money-damage-control-asia-express/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null"> China’s ‘point running’ crypto scams, pig butchers kidnap kids</a>

Crypto influencer found dead in Montreal park months after abduction

Cointelegraph

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