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Bitcoin bandit: Singaporean insurance agent called himself ‘Lord Voldemort’ and extorted clients – now he’s going to jail

  • Ye Lin Myint was handed a jail term of two years and five months on Tuesday after pleading guilty to criminal intimidation and harassment

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The 36-year-old sent emails and letters to six individuals, which threatened that they and their families would be harmed unless one bitcoin was transferred to him. Photo: TNS
Agence France-Presse
A disgruntled insurance agent who took on the identity of “Lord Voldemort”, Harry Potter’s nemesis, and threatened to harm clients unless they paid him bitcoin has been jailed in Singapore.

Myanmar national Ye Lin Myint targeted several clients after they missed appointments or cancelled insurance policies, according to court documents.

The Singapore permanent resident also threatened people who considered buying policies but decided not to, as well as the neighbours of clients and potential clients.

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The 36-year-old sent emails and letters to six individuals, which threatened that they and their families would be harmed unless one bitcoin was transferred to him.

At the time of the offences in August and September 2017, one unit of the cryptocurrency was worth about S$6,600 (US$4,900).

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He set up an email account for the campaign of harassment, and signed the messages “Lord Voldermort”, a misspelling of the name from the Harry Potter series.

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