The son of a federal contractor was arrested and charged with stealing $46 million in crypto from the U.S. Marshals Service.
The younger man’s father is the president of of a agency that gives “vital providers” to the Justice Division.
The alleged theft was first uncovered by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, who linked the funds to crypto seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
The son of a federal contractor who managed vital providers for the U.S. authorities has been arrested and charged with stealing some $46 million value of crypto from the U.S. Marshals Service.
John “Lick” Daghita was arrested final evening on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, the FBI introduced Thursday morning. He was discovered touring with a metallic briefcase containing wads of hundred-dollar payments, and quite a few arduous drives and safety keys, the FBI mentioned.
Daghita’s father, Dean Daghita, is the president of CMDSS, a agency that claims it offers vital providers for federal companies together with the Justice Division and the Division of Protection. FBI Director Kash Patel X put up on Thursday additionally means that John himself was a U.S. authorities contractor, although it isn’t instantly clear whether or not he labored for his father’s agency.
Final evening, John Daghita – a U.S. authorities contractor who allegedly stole greater than $46 million in cryptocurrency from the united statesMarshals Service – was arrested on the island of Saint Martin by the French Gendarmerie’s premier elite tactical unit in a joint operation with the… pic.twitter.com/3ttochgbjk
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 5, 2026
The youthful Daghita’s alleged crimes had been first dropped at the general public’s consideration in January by ZachXBT, the pseudonymous blockchain sleuth with an extended historical past of exposing misconduct within the crypto sector.
ZachXBT printed group chats and on-chain information which appeared to indicate Daghita bragging to different alleged hackers concerning the amount of cash he stole from the U.S. authorities. Daghita reportedly moved some $23 million value of crypto from pockets to pockets, predominantly in Ethereum, to show to a jeering rival that he in reality possessed vital funds.
ZachXBT linked that cash to funds seized by the U.S. authorities in 2024 associated to the notorious 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Shortly after ZachXBT publicly made these allegations, the U.S. Marshals Service introduced it was actively investigating Daghita. Daghita’s father, Dean, didn’t reply to Decrypt’s request for remark on the time.
The youthful Daghita’s arrest final evening was the product of a joint operation between the FBI and an “elite tactical unit” of the French army, FBI Director Kash Patel mentioned on X Thursday.
“FBI will proceed working 24/7 with our worldwide companions to trace down, apprehend, and convey to justice those that try and defraud American taxpayers—regardless of the place they attempt to conceal,” Patel mentioned.
After ZachXBT accused Daghita of the alleged theft in January, Daghita reportedly taunted the crypto sleuth in Telegram messages and despatched small quantities of the stolen funds to his pockets—a typical tactic, often known as dusting,” to implicate unconsenting crypto customers in malfeasance.
John Daghita (Lick) was arrested within the Caribbean yesterday as a direct results of my investigation.
In late January 2026, I uncovered how John stole $ 46M+ in seized crypto belongings from the US authorities by abusing entry at CMDSS, his father’s firm, which held a USMS contract.… pic.twitter.com/iqnoQXKJqZ
