Costa Rican Men Sentenced to 12 Years for Concealing $100M Ransom Bitcoin in 2018 Kidnapping Case

Costa Rica's San Jose Second Criminal Court has sentenced two men, Morales Vega and Molina Avila, to 12 years each for concealing approximately 148 BTC paid as ransom in a kidnapping case. The case relates to the 2018 kidnapping and murder of William Sean Creighton Kopko, owner of U.S.-based online sports betting company 5Dimes. The court applied money laundering charges under case number 506-2026.

The two men received Bitcoin ransom payments intended for the kidnappers and transferred them to wallets they controlled, hiding the illegal source of funds. Kopko was kidnapped in Costa Rica in September 2018, with his family paying approximately 148 BTC—valued at around $1 million (about ₩138.7 billion) at the time—as ransom. The initial demand was $5 million, but the final payment amounted to roughly $1 million across three wallets.

According to blockchain analytics firm Ublockchain citing Cryptonoticias, the defendants conspired with other suspects to divert part of the ransom into wallets they controlled to conceal its origin. Kopko did not survive after the ransom was paid; authorities believe he was killed shortly after abduction and his body was discovered in an unmarked grave in Copes in September 2019.

The trial focused on the movement of cryptocurrency funds rather than the kidnapping itself. Prosecutors argued that the defendants conspired with criminal organizations to divert Bitcoin into wallets they controlled, hiding its illegal source. The court determined both men were involved in concealing funds from the kidnapping and murder case. The sentence reflects how blockchain transaction records can serve as evidence despite cryptocurrency's perceived anonymity.