Man in Viral Machete Attack Faces US Court for Alleged Crypto Fraud

A London man, previously the subject of a widely shared video depicting a violent machete attack, is now in custody in California facing charges of access device fraud. Bilal Charles, who goes by the social media handle Mr.Swipedat, was arrested on July 10 and pleaded not guilty to the charges on July 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Charles is accused of participating in a plot to steal over $167,000 (£125,000) in Bitcoin and Ethereum from an individual's cryptocurrency account. According to court documents, the alleged scheme began on June 28 when Charles and another man approached the victim outside a San Francisco nightclub.

Investigators allege that after the victim shared his Instagram account with the men, his unlocked iPhone disappeared. Shortly after, the victim discovered his phone had been removed from his Apple account. Within hours, unauthorized access was gained to several of his financial accounts, including attempts to withdraw cryptocurrency and initiate a $4,000 (£3,000) bank transfer.

US Secret Service traced Charles through the Instagram account shared with the victim. Records from Meta and an email provider linked the account to Charles, who had also provided a London address to an airline. Investigators obtained CCTV footage from a Target store in San Leandro, California, showing a man identified as Charles making purchases with a mobile phone matching the description of the stolen device. He was also seen wearing a gray Nike tracksuit, similar to clothing he later posted on Instagram.

While attempts to withdraw the cryptocurrency were halted due to a 48-hour security delay on the victim's account, the suspect allegedly made fraudulent purchases totaling thousands of dollars, including gift cards and an Apple iPad.

Charles had arrived in California from Toronto eight days prior to the alleged theft. The victim reportedly told investigators that one of the men he encountered had a distinctive London accent.

Charles faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. His prior brush with notoriety occurred two years ago in Essex, England, when he was attacked by a machete-wielding gang. Footage from that incident showed him being slashed in the face and arm while inside a taxi, with one attacker shattering a car window.

At a court date on September 30, Charles refused to leave his jail cell for proceedings, prompting Judge Peter Kang to warn his defense counsel that further delays would impact the resolution of the case. The government has indicated that investigations are ongoing, including the analysis of Charles' iCloud account and any recovered victim devices.