Ex-Rugby Star Arrested in Shocking $91,000 Alleged Crypto Theft Scheme

Former Australian rugby league player Trent Merrin has been charged with stealing cryptocurrency worth about $140,000 (roughly $91,000 USD), following a year-long police investigation into what authorities describe as a deceptive transfer of digital assets from a victim’s account. merrin, 36, who played 250 first-grade games with the ￰2￱ Illawarra Dragons and the Penrith Panthers before retiring from the NRL in 2021, was arrested at his Barrack Point home in the Shellharbour region on Tuesday ￰3￱ arrest comes one year after police launched an inquiry into the alleged theft from a 29-year-old man’s crypto ￰4￱ the Crypto Scheme That Landed Ex-Rugby Star Trent Merrin in Court According to New South Wales Police, Merrin is accused of using “deceptive means” to gain unauthorized access to the victim’s account and transfer the ￰5￱ his arrest, investigators seized multiple electronic devices from his home, which will be forensically examined as part of the ongoing investigation.

Merrin, who has described himself online as a “cryptocurrency enthusiast” and “dedicated entrepreneur and investor,” has remained active in business since his retirement, launching ventures in wellness and recovery, including a cold plunge therapy ￰6￱ was granted conditional bail and is set to appear before Port Kembla Local Court on December ￰7￱ have not disclosed how the alleged transfer was conducted or whether the stolen cryptocurrency has been ￰8￱ sources say forensic specialists are analyzing transaction trails and device data to establish the full extent of the ￰9￱ experts note that the penalties for crypto-related theft can vary widely, depending on the jurisdiction and severity of the ￰10￱ Austria, the basic penalty for fraud is imprisonment for up to six months or a fine not exceeding 360 daily ￰11￱ applies if the fraud involves the use of false documents/data or if the damage exceeds €5,000 and is punishable by imprisonment for up to three ￰12￱ the damage exceeds €300,000, the punishment is imprisonment from one to ten ￰13￱ Authorities Step Up Enforcement After $9.3 Billion in Crypto Scams Reported in 2024 The arrest adds to a growing global trend of cryptocurrency-related fraud cases involving former athletes and public ￰14￱ July, a former semi-professional rugby player from Seattle, Shane Donovan Moore, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for running a $900,000 Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 40 investors across several ￰15￱ said Moore used investor funds meant for a crypto mining business to pay for luxury items and personal expenses.

Elsewhere, authorities in Beijing sentenced five individuals to up to four years in prison last month for running an illegal foreign exchange scheme that laundered over $166 million using ￰16￱ sentences five individuals to prison for operating $166 million crypto money laundering operation using USDT for illegal cross-border transfers. #China #Stablecoin ￰0￱ — ￰17￱ (@cryptonews) October 29, 2025 The case was described by regulators as one of China’s largest crypto-related prosecutions to ￰18￱ the U. S., two brothers educated at MIT are currently standing trial in Manhattan for allegedly stealing $25 million worth of Ethereum in seconds through a blockchain manipulation ￰19￱ argue the pair exploited the Ethereum network’s validation protocols, while the defense contends the act did not constitute fraud, in a case that could test the limits of criminal law in decentralized ￰20￱ incidents form part of a wider surge in crypto-related crime, as adoption continues to expand ￰21￱ to the FBI, Americans reported $9.3 billion in cryptocurrency fraud losses in 2024 , a 66% increase from the previous ￰22￱ 50% of those losses were tied to investment scams, with 149,000 complaints ￰23￱ FBI recorded $9.3 billion losses spread across various crypto-related investment scams, extortion, ATM and kiosks, among others, in 2024. #FBI #CryptoFraud #CryptoScam ￰1￱ — ￰24￱ (@cryptonews) April 24, 2025 Chainalysis’ mid-year 2025 report indicates the trend has not slowed, revealing $2.17 billion already stolen this year , surpassing 2024’s ￰25￱ analysts say many of these cases stem from deceptive tactics, weak digital security, and misplaced trust.