An American government contractor who stands alledgely stole more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from the U.S. Marshals Service was recently arrested on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in an international takedown.
“Last night, John Daghita – a U.S. government contractor who allegedly stole more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from the U.S. Marshals Service – was arrested on the island of Saint Martin by the French Gendarmerie’s premier elite tactical unit in a joint operation with the FBI,” Director Patel announced via X on March 5.
At the time of his arrest, officers recovered several physical cryptocurrency wallets and a briefcase containing cash. From the images provided by the FBI, it appears Daghita was holding a large chunk of the stolen funds in Trezor crypto-only hardware wallets (small devices that securely store your cryptocurrency private keys offline).
“The FBI will continue working 24/7 with our international partners to track down, apprehend, and bring to justice those who attempt to defraud American taxpayers — no matter where they try to hide,” Patel added.
An Inside Job
Daghita, 21, has been identified as the son of Dean Daghita, President of Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a Virginia-based IT firm, according to an original thread posted by blockchain investigator and X user ZachXBT.
CMDSS holds an active contract with the U.S. Marshals Service to help with the “custody and disposal of” certain types of seized cryptocurrency – meaning the firm had exclusive access to wallets holding billions of dollars in government-related digital assets.
However, “It still remains unclear at this point how John obtained access from his dad,” according to ZachXBT.
The U.S. Marshals Service manages digital assets seized during criminal investigations, including some of the most high-profile cases in recent years. Among the wallets allegedly targeted were assets tied to the 2016 Bitfinex hack, one of the biggest crypto-theft schemes, as previously covered by DX.
The total suspected theft may even exceed $90 million when accounting for additional suspicious activity from Daghita that was “observed” in late 2025, according to BitCoin Magazine.
Caught Bragging Online
The investigation was set in motion not by a government audit, but by ZachXBT’s independent investigation, which uncovered the scheme in late January 2026 after Daghita allegedly flaunted his holdings in a Telegram group chat pretty brazenly.
While using the alias “Lick,” Daghita reportedly screen-shared a crypto wallet containing roughly $23 million, directly tied to government seizure addresses. ZachXBT then traced the funds from that screenshot through the blockchain, identified Daghita, and reported his findings to law enforcement officials.
A formal investigation opened in January following the tip. Within weeks, American feds and French agents worked together to locate and lock up the 21-year-old crypto thief.
As of the time of reporting, there are no reports of recovered funds being returned or additional arrests.