A woman from North Texas stands accused of stealing Bitcoin valued at $570,000 after allegedly obtaining passwords to access the cryptocurrency from a residence in Dallas.

Texas Woman Arrested for Alleged Theft of $570K in Bitcoin
On September 6, Joann Vasquez, aged 38, was taken into custody and booked into the Dallas County Jail on charges related to the theft of over $500,000 worth of Bitcoin.

According to court documents obtained by NBC 5, the incident dates back to January 25, 2021, when Dallas Police responded to a residence in the 3800 block of Gaspar Drive in Dallas following a report of a burglary. The individual housesitting at the time discovered a broken window and clear signs of forced entry.

Investigators reviewed security camera footage, which showed a man entering the backyard around noon the previous day and leaving approximately 30 minutes later with a Roomba, a firearm, and an athletic bag believed to contain a safe.

The missing safe, as reported by the homeowner, contained account information and passwords for Bitcoin, which were used to access accounts and transfer $570,000 worth of the cryptocurrency.

The intruder, identified as Michael Jason Neria, was apprehended on March 3, 2021, at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on burglary warrants from Frisco, Irving, and Dallas. Neria admitted to his involvement in numerous burglaries, including the one at the Gaspar Drive residence, and disclosed that Vasquez, aware of the source of the information, possessed most of the stolen Bitcoin and had access to the account and passwords.

Further investigation revealed footage of Vasquez using her Texas driver’s license to withdraw funds from Bitcoin ATMs following the burglary. She allegedly made four consecutive visits to Bitcoin ATMs between January 25 and February 1, 2021, withdrawing approximately $9,400.

While in custody, Neria contacted Vasquez and requested that Bitcoin funds be transferred to his account, resulting in the transfer of funds shortly thereafter. Although $100,000 was recovered from Neria, an additional $470,000 remains unaccounted for, with Vasquez suspected of having access to the accounts managing the remaining funds.