================================================================================================
CASE 308  |  Saudi Royal  |  February, 2023  |  Australia
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DATABASE RECORD
  id                  308
  date                February, 2023
  original_date       February, 2023
  year                2023
  month               2
  quarter             2023-Q1
  victim              Saudi Royal
  location            Melbourne, Australia
  country             Australia
  scenario            Malicious Invitation - SocialEng
  description         TikTok influencer lures Saudi royal to her home where he was imprisoned until he handed over $40K in BTC.
  kidnappings         1
  violence_torture    0
  drugs_alcohol       0
  weapons             1
  theft               1
  life_taken          0
  money_wanted        20-40k usd
  coin_type           crypto
  reports             Cryptorank, cryptonews
  notes               tik tok influencer kidnaps saudi family member and extorts for 20k usd, he was zip tied and threatened to cut his fingers off
  has_processed_date  0
  created_at          2025-11-14 09:05:23

AI SUMMARY  [revised on review, verified against the sources in this file. Live DB still holds the shorter bulk-import summary — apply this to it.]
  **Victims:** An unnamed 23-year-old member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, who reportedly traded digital assets, in the Melbourne area of Australia.
  
  **Attackers:** Catherine Colivas, a 24-year-old Australian TikTok influencer who lured him, together with three men who ambushed him. Colivas pleaded guilty.
  
  **Attack Method:** In February 2023 Colivas met the man for drinks; when he offered to drive her home, three men jumped him and drove him off against his will, later returning him to his own home.
  
  **Violence Used:** He was bound with zip ties and threatened with having his fingers cut off; the case also involved a weapon (Colivas was convicted of recklessly causing injury and gun possession).
  
  **Crypto Demanded/Stolen:** The kidnappers demanded a $20,000 ransom, and he transferred $40,000 in Bitcoin to their accounts; they also stole several luxury items from his home before releasing him.
  
  **Status:** He was driven home and released. Colivas pleaded guilty to kidnapping, extortion, recklessly causing injury, theft and gun possession; on 16 December 2024 she received only a community corrections order (avoiding jail, having faced up to 25 years), citing her mental condition and upbringing.

LINKED SOURCES
  [url]  https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/682e3-woman-convicted-of-kidnapping-saudi-arabian-royalty-in-bitcoin-scheme-spared-jail

NOTES ON THIS FILE
  * matched to sheet row 150: exact match on victim + year, unique on both sides

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARTICLE 1
  Source   Cryptorank, cryptonews
  URL      https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/682e3-woman-convicted-of-kidnapping-saudi-arabian-royalty-in-bitcoin-scheme-spared-jail
  Origin   reported_K&R sheet, row 150, column "Articles"
  Length   1,995 chars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kidnapping Saudi Royal for Bitcoin Ransom: TikTok Star Avoids Jail
Dec, 16, 2024
2 min read
by Julia Smith
for Cryptonews
Kidnapping Saudi Royal for Bitcoin Ransom: TikTok Star Avoids Jail
Catherine Colivas, an Australian woman, pleaded guilty to kidnapping an unnamed Saudi Arabian royal in February last year as part of a Bitcoin scam that netted $40,000. However, she avoided jail time for her role in the scheme.

Catherine Colivas Pleads Guilty To Saudi Arabian Royalty Scam
The 24-year-old TikTok influencer previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping, extortion, recklessly causing injury, theft, and gun possession. Still, she walked away from her sentencing on December 16 with just a community corrections order. This is the equivalent to community service in the United States.

A woman who regularly posts videos online of her glamorous lifestyle allegedly kidnapped a man in Moorabbin and held him at knifepoint. Full story: https://t.co/kw7eWXQL5I pic.twitter.com/zsHLASeoQI

— Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) July 6, 2023
Prosecutors allege that Colivas met with a 23-year-old member of the Saudi Arabian royal family in February of last year for drinks. When he offered to drive her home, he was jumped by three men and driven off against his will.

According to news.com.au, the prince was bound with zip ties and threatened to have his fingers cut off should he have failed to pay a $20,000 ransom. The captive royal, who reportedly traded digital assets, then transferred $40,000 to his kidnappers’ accounts.

The attackers proceeded to drive the unnamed victim back home, where they stole several luxury items before releasing the prince.

Colivas was facing a maximum of 25 years behind bars. However, she got a lesser sentence thanks in part to her weakened mental condition and poor upbringing.

Per CoinMarketCap, one Bitcoin on the date of the crime was valued at $23,147. According to Bitcoin calculator Bitbo, the stolen $40,000 worth of the token would now equate to $145,271.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARTICLE 2
  Source   Cryptorank, cryptonews
  URL      (no URL recorded for this column)
  Origin   reported_K&R sheet, row 150, column "Article 2"
  Length   2,738 chars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kidnapping Saudi Royal for Bitcoin Ransom: TikTok Star Avoids Jail

Bitcoin
crypto scam
Colivas was reportedly facing a quarter of a century behind bars for her role in the scheme.

Author
Julia Smith
Share





Last updated: 
December 16, 2024

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Kidnapping Saudi Royal for Bitcoin Ransom: TikTok Star Avoids Jail
Kidnapping Saudi Royal for Bitcoin Ransom: TikTok Star Avoids Jail
Catherine Colivas, an Australian woman, pleaded guilty to kidnapping an unnamed Saudi Arabian royal in February last year as part of a Bitcoin scam that netted $40,000. However, she avoided jail time for her role in the scheme.

Catherine Colivas Pleads Guilty To Saudi Arabian Royalty Scam
The 24-year-old TikTok influencer previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping, extortion, recklessly causing injury, theft, and gun possession. Still, she walked away from her sentencing on December 16 with just a community corrections order. This is the equivalent to community service in the United States.


Prosecutors allege that Colivas met with a 23-year-old member of the Saudi Arabian royal family in February of last year for drinks. When he offered to drive her home, he was jumped by three men and driven off against his will.

According to news.com.au, the prince was bound with zip ties and threatened to have his fingers cut off should he have failed to pay a $20,000 ransom. The captive royal, who reportedly traded digital assets, then transferred $40,000 to his kidnappers’ accounts.

The attackers proceeded to drive the unnamed victim back home, where they stole several luxury items before releasing the prince.

Colivas was facing a maximum of 25 years behind bars. However, she got a lesser sentence thanks in part to her weakened mental condition and poor upbringing.


Per CoinMarketCap, one Bitcoin on the date of the crime was valued at $23,147. According to Bitcoin calculator Bitbo, the stolen $40,000 worth of the token would now equate to $145,271.

Bitcoin Sets Price Records
News of the high-profile case and Colivas’ subsequent sentencing comes amid a Bitcoin boom that has seen the token experience a surge following the election of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump, who launched his family’s crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, earlier this year, has been an outspoken advocate for digital assets.

The former reality television has pledged to enact a crypto-friendly regulatory approach to the blockchain sector when he returns to the Oval Office next month.

The Satoshi Nakamoto-created cryptocurrency has soared in light of the anticipated more balanced regulatory atmosphere. Bitcoin reached a record high of over $106,000 in the past 24 hours alone.


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FETCHED ARTICLE 1  [RAW EXTRACT — NOT YET TRIMMED]
  !! This is the whole page as extracted. It still contains site furniture,
  !! and may contain teaser headlines for UNRELATED cases. Trim on read-through.
  !! Do not quote from it without checking the passage belongs to this case.
  Source     cryptorank.io
  URL        https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/682e3-woman-convicted-of-kidnapping-saudi-arabian-royalty-in-bitcoin-scheme-spared-jail
  Field      url
  Retrieved  2026-09-05T12:44:15+00:00 via raw HTTP retrieval, deterministic extraction (HTTP 200)
  Language   unknown
  Kept       paragraphs ALL 42 paragraphs, untrimmed
  Length     3,277 chars
  Integrity  sha256 de6c0ffae14a307a7beca72ce0bed203ea593738e942a490e93f018a41b47f9a
  Trimmed    NOT TRIMMED. Full page extract; trim on read-through.
  Caveat     retrieved from a live page on the date above. Unlike text copied
             from the spreadsheet, there is no second copy to hash it against.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL (unknown, verbatim as retrieved)

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generated from attacks-export-Gart-website.json + reported_K&R  |  case 308
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