A 29-year-old individual from Lanarkshire deemed the technical mastermind behind a cryptocurrency heist, has sidestepped imprisonment and received a community sentence.
John-Ross Rennie acknowledged as the key figure in what’s believed to be Scotland’s inaugural crypto robbery, was acquitted of assault and robbery charges but found guilty of possessing stolen items.
Despite denying involvement in the incident where three men forcibly entered a residence, threatened a man to transfer his Bitcoin, and left a woman injured in 2020, Rennie was sentenced to a six-month community payback order and mandated to perform 150 hours of community service within three months.
Judge Lord Scott remarked on Rennie’s pivotal role, stating, “Without the robbers’ reliance on what you knew, however, it is hard to see the robbery being able to proceed or at least to proceed as it did.”
Defense solicitor advocate Marco Guarino argued against imprisonment, highlighting Rennie’s lack of prior convictions, parental responsibilities, and limited role in the robbery.
Prosecutor Stewart Ronnie revealed plans for proceeds of crime action against Rennie, scheduled for the High Court in Lanark on December 18, as he had utilized £35,000 of the £109,601 stolen for personal use.
The court learned that the robbery involved intruders coercing the victim to transfer cryptocurrency at machete-point, with a third assailant assaulting a woman using a personalized Toblerone bar before making a threatening getaway gesture with the bloodied bar.
Detective Inspector Craig Potter noted that this incident marked Scotland’s first cryptocurrency-related robbery.