A dramatic international arrest has pulled back the curtain on an alleged multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency theft tied to the U.S. Marshals Service, highlighting the growing stakes surrounding government-controlled digital assets. The suspect, identified as John Daghita, was apprehended on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in a joint operation carried out by the FBI and French law enforcement authorities.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest publicly, praising the coordination between American investigators and the French Gendarmerie units that helped bring the operation to a successful conclusion. According to Patel, the effort involved the International Cooperation Team Serious Crime Unit of the French Gendarmerie National in Saint Martin as well as the elite Groupe d’intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale based in nearby Guadeloupe.
“FBI will continue working 24/7 with our international partners to track down, apprehend, and bring to justice those who attempt to defraud American taxpayers—no matter where they try to hide,” Patel wrote in a statement posted on X.
Last night, John Daghita – a U.S. government contractor who allegedly stole more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from the U.S Marshals Service – was arrested on the island of Saint Martin by the French Gendarmerie’s premier elite tactical unit in a joint operation with the… pic.twitter.com/3ttochgbjk
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 5, 2026
At the center of the case is an allegation that Daghita stole more than $46 million worth of cryptocurrency from wallets managed by the U.S. Marshals Service. The agency has long been responsible for holding and auctioning off digital assets seized during criminal investigations, making it one of the largest institutional custodians of government-held cryptocurrency.
Daghita’s now-deleted LinkedIn profile reportedly listed him as an employee of Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a Virginia-based technology company that held contracts with the Marshals Service to help manage those seized digital assets. The firm is led by Dean Daghita, identified as the suspect’s father.
Authorities believe the younger Daghita gained access to private cryptocurrency addresses through his father’s company, though investigators have not yet publicly detailed the precise technical method used to access the funds. Control of a private key effectively grants full authority over a crypto wallet, meaning that anyone who obtains that key can transfer assets without traditional banking safeguards.
The alleged theft has drawn particular attention because of the enormous value of the digital holdings overseen by the U.S. Marshals Service. According to estimates cited by Bitcoin Magazine, the agency currently controls roughly 200,000 bitcoin that were confiscated through criminal cases over the years. At current market prices, those holdings are valued at around $13.5 billion.
That makes the Marshals Service one of the largest government holders of cryptocurrency anywhere in the world. Historically, the agency has periodically auctioned off seized bitcoin and other digital assets, sometimes selling them in large batches to institutional buyers.
