Brazilian Civil Police have arrested a man identified as the perpetrator behind an extortion campaign that involved sending threatening letters to financial executives and residents of luxury condominiums in São Paulo.
Ítalo Francisco Mendes Barbiot, 42, is accused of mailing dozens of letters containing death threats and describing plans for attacks using explosives and drones. The letters included real explosive material and demanded recipients send 1.7 million reais, approximately $300,000 in bitcoin, to a QR code address to avoid becoming targets.
The investigation proved challenging as the suspect used encrypted email services based in Switzerland and self-custody cryptocurrency wallets to obscure his identity. However, authorities identified Mendes Barbiot after obtaining surveillance footage showing him paying a subway fare using a digital application on his smartphone.
The arrest also resolved a separate case involving similar threatening letters sent to executives of an unnamed cryptocurrency exchange. Those letters contained ricin, a lethal toxin found in castor plant seeds, and similarly demanded bitcoin ransom payments. A graffiti artist helped link the cases by identifying similarities in the handwriting on letter envelopes.
Mendes Barbiot confessed to both incidents, telling police he acted out of financial desperation while unemployed and citing social engineering skills as a factor.
"From everything we've identified, it was a lone wolf. He was doing everything he could to obtain some financial value from that bitcoin wallet he gave those victims," said Nelson Fernandes, divisional delegate of the Anti-Kidnapping Division.
Police continue investigating whether any victims paid the demanded ransom due to fear of the threats and whether other individuals may have been involved in related extortion attempts against letter recipients. As of the investigation's current stage, reports did not indicate whether cryptocurrency funds were recovered.
