Missing Crypto Influencer, Under Investigation by Canadian Regulator, Found Dead in Montreal: Report

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A dead body discovered in the Île-de-la-Visitation park in Montreal, Canada on Oct. 30 has been identified as missing “crypto influencer” Kevin Mirshahi, according to a Nov. 12 report from the Montreal Gazette.
The 25-year-old has been missing since he was abducted along with three others from a condo in the city on June 21. The other abductees, two women and one man, were located by police hours later. In August, Joanie Lepage, 32, was charged with first-degree murder of Mirshahi and the abduction of Mirshahi and the three others. It is not known if her actions are linked to Mirshahi’s cryptocurrency ventures.
At the time of his disappearance, Mirshahi ran a crypto investment scheme called Crypto Paradise Island, a paid-for Telegram group offering investment advice.
But it was also implicated in a pump and dump scheme involving a token called Marsan ($MRS) that saw its 2,300 members – many between the ages of 16 and 20 – lose thousands of dollars, according to Le Journal de Montréal. Created by Antoine Marsan and Bastien Francoeur through their company Marsan Exchange, the token launched April 14, 2021. They paid Mirshahi in the token to promote it.
Marsan peaked in value at Canadian dollar $5.14 ($3.67) three days after launch, but on April 18, two large holders cashed out and the value collapsed to $0.39.
As a result, Mirshahi and his company had been under investigation by Quebec’s investment regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), since 2021. He was also under a “ban on carrying out any activity as a broker or investment adviser, a ban on securities transactions and orders for the withdrawal of publications on social media and the withdrawal of the name of the AMF”, which had most recently been extended on July 4 this year.
Further reporting by Le Journal de Montréal indicates that despite the ban, he continued to run a Telegram group promoting cryptocurrency investments with the name “Amir.”
The announcement that his body had been discovered came a week after another cryptocurrency-linked kidnapping in Toronto. Dean Skurka, CEO of publicly listed crypto holding company WonderFi, was forced into a car by assailants who then demanded a ransom of nearly $720,660. He was released after paying the money.
But it’s not just Canada that has seen an uptick of physical crime involving cryptocurrency. A list maintained by co-founder and Chief Security Officer of Casa, Jameson Lopp has recorded 18 attacks with links to cryptocurrency this year. Among them are cases of investors being lured by attackers under the pretense of doing in-person P2P trades, home invasions, and even murders.
Edited by Parikshit Mishra.
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Callan Quinn is a Hong Kong-based news reporter at CoinDesk. She holds more than $1,000 of ETH.