A dead body found in the Île-de-la-Visitation park in Montreal has been identified as 25-year-old crypto influencer Kevin Mirshahi who was under investigation by Canadian authorities.
Mirshahi has been missing ever since he was abducted alongside three other people on June 21, according to a recent report by the local news outlet Montreal Gazette. The other three people abducted alongside him from a condo were located just hours after the abduction.
The body was found on Oct 30 and eventually identified as Mirshahi on Nov 12.
The details
This summer, 32-year-old Joanie Lepage was charged with the first-degree murder of Mirshahi and the abduction of him alongside two other women and one man. It is so far unknown if her motivations were linked to Mirshahi’s involvement in the crypto industry.
At the time of the disappearance, the crypto influencer was responsible for a paid-for Telegram group offering investment advice called Crypto Paradise Island. The group was also involved in a pump-and-dump scheme focused on the Marsan (MRS) token, which reportedly led to 2,300 members losing thousands of dollars. Many of the members were between the ages of 16 and 20.
Marsan was a token created by Antoine Marsan and Bastien Francoeur through their Marsan Exchange company. It was launched in April 2021. Mirshahi was paid to promote the asset to his followers.
Marsan saw a peak value of $3.67 three days after its launch, but after two whales dumped their holdings, the price crashed down to $0.39. As a consequence of his involvement with this token, Mirshahi and his company were being investigated by Canadian financial regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
The report follows Dean Skurka — the president and CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency firm WonderFi — being allegedly kidnapped. He was then reportedly released after a one million Canadian dollars — just under $719,000 — ransom was paid.
Another similar case recently took place in Thailand. Earlier this month, a Ukrainian man fell victim to a targeted crypto robbery after he was forced to hand over 250,000 USD.
