An American man on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wanted list was arrested at his home Monday in Indonesia for alleged sex crimes, Reuters reported.
Russ Albert Medlin was wanted by the FBI for a suspected $722 million bitcoin scam, Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus said at a news conference Tuesday.
Indonisian police arrested Medlin Monday at his home in Jakarta, Indonesia, for sex crimes involving a minor, according to the Reuters report. (RELATED: Tourists Could Suffer Under New Sex Crime Law Pushed By Islamic Group)
A US citizen has been arrested in Jakarta for alleged sexual conduct with Indonesian minors. Suspect is sought by the FBI for his involvement in a crypto scam. A Nevada court also sentenced him to prison for having sex with minors in 2006 and 2008. https://t.co/1EWTGZ26mQ
— Resty Woro Yuniar (@restyworo) June 16, 2020
Yunus said that police made the arrest after 3 teenage girls told them in an interview that Medlin paid to have sex with them, according to Yahoo News. He now faces charges from the country’s child protection law.
Police seized $20,000 from Medlin, who could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Medlin ran an alleged bitcoin scam that was described by U.S. prosecutors as a “high-tech Ponzi scheme,” where investors were lured into buying bitcoin stocks by false earnings reports. The scam ran from April 2014 through December 2019, and prosecutors say 3 men have been arrested so far in connection with the crimes.
Jakarta police’s special investigation director Roma Hutajulu said that Indonesian authorities “are still waiting for a request from the US Embassy” to send Medlin back to the United States to face charges for the bitcoin scam, Yahoo News reported.
The American Embassy is working with them on the case, Indonesian authorities said.