Share this article
US Police Officer Charged with Receiving Stolen Bitcoin Miners
A New Jersey police officer has been arrested and charged with receiving stolen property after allegedly selling stolen bitcoin mining equipment.
By Emily Spaven
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 2:01 p.m. Published Apr 21, 2015, 11:02 a.m.
A New Jersey police officer has been arrested and charged with receiving stolen property after allegedly selling stolen bitcoin mining equipment.
According to Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D Soriano, Vincent Saggese, 32, of Metuchen, NJ, met with a Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office undercover detective twice and negotiated the sale of stolen KNC Miner Neptune devices.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Saggese, who worked for the Plainfield Police Department for 10 years, was also charged with professional misconduct after allegedly accepting $250 from the undercover detective and agreeing to obtain the address and a photograph of a license plate's owner.
The defendant was arrested in Somerville on 17th April and the license plate number given to him by the undercover officer was found written on a slip of paper in his pocket.
Detectives then seized the currency used by the undercover detective to purchase the bitcoin mining equipment as well as the $250 for the license plate information.
Saggese has been charged with Official Misconduct 2nd degree and Receiving Stolen Property 3rd degree.
Bad cops
This isn't the first time police officials have been charged with crimes relating to stolen bitcoins or bitcoin mining equipment.
Last month two federal agents who took part in the US government's efforts to take down online black market Silk Road were charged with fraud for allegedly misusing bitcoin funds.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges US Secret Service special agent Shaun Bridges "diverted" more than $800,000 in bitcoin to his personal accounts without authorization.
Also, the DOJ alleges Drug Enforcement Administration agent Carl Mark Force IV "solicited and received" digital currency as part of the investigation into Silk Road, using "fake online personas" to "steal from the government and targets of the investigation".
Both Bridges and Force were charged with money laundering and wire fraud. Force has also been charged with the theft of government property.
Arrested image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Buyers Step In at $2 Floor as XRP Builds on Bitcoin's Hover Above $91K
Institutional demand for XRP ETFs has surpassed $1 billion, despite muted retail interest.
What to know:
- XRP's price rebounded from the $2.00 level, indicating strong institutional buying at this psychological floor.
- Institutional demand for XRP ETFs has surpassed $1 billion, despite muted retail interest.
- A breakout above $2.11 is needed to trigger further momentum towards higher resistance levels.
Top Stories
