{"investigation":{"slug":"dritan-kapllani-jr","entity_name":"Dritan Kapllani Jr.","trust_score":2,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.82,"status":"draft","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Dritan Kapllani Jr. is an 18-year-old US resident publicly identified by on-chain investigator ZachXBT on May 12, 2026 as allegedly connected to approximately $19 million in social engineering cryptocurrency thefts, including a 185 BTC theft on March 14, 2026 worth roughly $13 million. Federal prosecutors named him as 'Co-Conspirator 1' in a criminal complaint unsealed May 11, 2026 against charged co-defendant Trenton Johnston; as of mid-June 2026 Kapllani himself has not been formally charged. Following public exposure, on-chain analysts observed him moving approximately $2.59 million in funds through new wallet hops, raising concerns about potential asset concealment.","sections":[{"content":"Dritan Kapllani Jr. is an 18-year-old US-based individual described by ZachXBT as having Albanian heritage. He is alleged to be affiliated with 'The Com,' a loose network of young threat actors engaged in social engineering and SIM-swapping, and is specifically linked to sub-groups referred to as ACG and 41/RM Boyz, several members of which have faced prior arrests. ZachXBT noted in his May 2026 exposé that Kapllani had benefited from apparent legal insulation as a minor while associates were prosecuted, writing that 'He just turned 18 so hopefully now his borrowed time is finally up.' No official government biography or booking record had been made public as of mid-June 2026.","heading":"Identity and Background","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto Times","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://ourcryptotalk.com/blog/dritan-kapllani-19-million-crypto-theft-explained","name":"The Dritan Kapllani Case Explained — Our Crypto Talk","type":"news_article","credibility":3}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"ZachXBT's May 12, 2026 investigation alleged that Kapllani's wallets received proceeds from two distinct clusters of social engineering thefts. The first cluster consists of five separate incidents occurring between August and October 2025, collectively totaling at least $5.85 million, linked to wallet address 0x97da0685dbba50b4cbabb0ca9e8336f4fbe41122. The second and larger incident is the theft of 185 Bitcoin on March 14, 2026 — valued at approximately $13 million at the time — with funds alleged to have arrived in Kapllani's primary wallet (0x4487db847db2fc99372a985743a26f46e0b2bba6) by March 15, 2026. Blockchain timestamps reviewed by ZachXBT reportedly placed wallet splits in a narrow window between 1:10 AM and 2:41 AM on March 14. The alleged attack method involved impersonating technology and cryptocurrency company support staff — including Trezor wallet support — to psychologically manipulate victims into surrendering seed phrases or authorizing fraudulent transactions. Laundering allegedly involved cross-chain bridging from Bitcoin to Ethereum, fragmented deposits across multiple exchange accounts, and the use of Monero for obfuscation. Signal messages cited in the federal complaint against co-defendant Johnston show a co-conspirator identified only as 'CC-1' writing 'we so goated...185 btc...felt so good' and 'we need to hit another big one,' and separately stating 'Putting it in XMR and living off that.' Prosecutors identified CC-1 as Kapllani in the complaint.","heading":"Alleged Theft Activity and Methods","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto Times","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/zachxbt-band-4-band-flex-crypto-theft-dritan-kapllani-jr-19m/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr.: Teen Allegedly Linked to $19M in Crypto Social-Engineering Thefts — CCN","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/zachxbt-exposes-dritan-kapllani-jr-133215105.html","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. — Yahoo News","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"On May 11, 2026, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida unsealed a criminal complaint against Trenton Richard David Johnston, a 20-year-old Canadian citizen, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the 185 BTC theft. The complaint references an uncharged 'Co-Conspirator 1' who federal prosecutors have identified as Kapllani. Johnston later entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Brandon Tardibone, a Miami-based luxury car dealer operating under the alias '@yelotree,' was charged as a separate co-conspirator for laundering Johnston's proceeds through his business — converting stolen funds into a Lamborghini, two BMWs, jewelry, rental properties, and nightclub spending — and also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. As of mid-June 2026, no charges have been publicly filed against Kapllani directly. The DOJ press release for the case is available at the Southern District of Florida's official website.","heading":"Federal Legal Proceedings","sources":[{"url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/canadian-illegal-alien-and-co-conspirator-charged-13-million-cryptocurrency-fraud","name":"Canadian Illegal Alien and Co-Conspirator Charged in $13 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme — DOJ SDFL","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/26/06/53185703/we-smacked-a-185-bitcoin-target-canadian-teen-pleads-guilty-in-13-million-crypto-fraud-case","name":"'We Smacked A 185 Bitcoin Target:' Canadian Teen Pleads Guilty In $13 Million Crypto Fraud Case — Benzinga","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trenton-johnston-crypto-fraud-9.7229075","name":"Canadian who stole $13M US in crypto bought Lamborghini, BMWs, plea deal says — CBC News","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto Times","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"The primary on-chain evidence linking Kapllani to the alleged thefts came from ZachXBT's analysis of fund flows, corroborated by blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. The investigator documented fund movement from victim wallets through a series of intermediary addresses into wallets attributed to Kapllani, with timing overlapping the known theft windows. A critical operational security failure occurred on April 23, 2026, when Kapllani allegedly screen-shared his Exodus wallet — showing approximately $3.68 million in cryptocurrency — during a competitive 'band 4 band' Discord call in which participants compare balances. Other participants on the call were identified by the handles 'dh sos,' 'The Punisher,' and 'kenele.' ZachXBT noted that Exodus wallet metadata, including portfolio age of approximately one month and wallet creation date, corroborated the timing of the March 2026 theft. Kapllani also allegedly posted luxury lifestyle content to Instagram — showing vehicles, watches, private jets, and nightclub attendance — which was cited as corroborating evidence of unexplained wealth.","heading":"On-Chain Evidence and Discord Exposure","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto Times","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://coinpedia.org/news/zachxbt-names-teen-behind-19-million-crypto-theft-who-flaunted-it-on-instagram/","name":"ZachXBT Names Teen Behind 19 Million Crypto Theft Who Flaunted It on Instagram — Coinpedia","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.mexc.com/news/1084914","name":"ZachXBT Links Dritan Kapllani Jr to $19M Crypto Theft and Laundering Network — MEXC News","type":"news_article","credibility":3}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Following ZachXBT's public exposé on May 12, 2026, on-chain analysts observed two significant fund movements from wallets attributed to Kapllani. First, approximately $1.6 million was reportedly withdrawn from the Exodus wallet — which had displayed $3.68 million during the April 23 Discord call — prior to ZachXBT publishing his findings. Second, on or around May 15, 2026, ZachXBT reported a transfer of approximately $2.59 million, consisting of 1.99 million DAI and 259 ETH, moved 'three hops' from address 0x4487db847db2fc99372a985743a26f46e0b2bba6 to 0x67ec1d405e53ed13a19eb77a9db19186723d125d, where the funds were reported as dormant. Analysts noted that the movement into harder-to-freeze assets shortly after public identification raised concerns about potential flight risk or asset concealment, drawing comparisons to the behavior of co-conspirator John Daghita ('Lick'), who was arrested in Saint Martin in March 2026 and is awaiting extradition following ZachXBT's January 2026 exposure of him.","heading":"Post-Exposure Fund Movements","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/dritan-kapllani-moves-funds-zachxbt-exposure/","name":"Flight risk or not: Dritan Kapllani Jr. moves $2.59M funds after ZachXBT exposure — Cryptopolitan","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto Times","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Kapllani is alleged to be part of a broader ecosystem of young English-speaking threat actors described as 'The Com.' Several individuals associated with overlapping groups have faced prosecution. John Daghita, known online as 'Lick,' was publicly identified by ZachXBT in January 2026 and subsequently arrested in Saint Martin; he is alleged to have been involved in a separate $46 million theft. Malone Lam was arrested in Miami in September 2024 in connection with a $263 million Bitcoin theft attributed to the same network. Evan Tangeman of Newport Beach pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and laundering at least $3.5 million. Nicholas Dellecave, Mustafa Ibrahim, and Danish Zulfiqar were charged under a second superseding indictment in the same $263 million case. The broader enterprise allegedly originated on online gaming platforms and involved members across California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and internationally. Kapllani's specific role — as a recipient of stolen funds rather than a charged co-conspirator in the larger RICO case — has not been formally adjudicated as of mid-June 2026.","heading":"Network Associations","sources":[{"url":"https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/guilty-plea-and-superseding-indictment-announced-in-social-engineering-scheme-that-stole-263-million-in-cryptocurrency","name":"Guilty plea and superseding indictment announced in social engineering scheme that stole $263 million in cryptocurrency — IRS Criminal Investigation","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://ourcryptotalk.com/blog/dritan-kapllani-19-million-crypto-theft-explained","name":"The Dritan Kapllani Case Explained — Our Crypto Talk","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto Times","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2025-08-01","event":"Alleged start of social engineering thefts connected to Kapllani's secondary wallet; ZachXBT later linked five incidents between August and October 2025 totaling at least $5.85 million.","source":"Crypto Times / ZachXBT investigation","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/"},{"date":"2026-01-01","event":"ZachXBT publicly identified John Daghita ('Lick'), an alleged associate of Kapllani, in a separate $46 million theft; Daghita was subsequently arrested in Saint Martin.","source":"Our Crypto Talk","source_url":"https://ourcryptotalk.com/blog/dritan-kapllani-19-million-crypto-theft-explained"},{"date":"2026-03-14","event":"185 Bitcoin (approximately $13 million) stolen from a California victim in an alleged social engineering attack; on-chain data showed funds splitting into multiple wallets between 1:10 AM and 2:41 AM.","source":"Crypto Times / ZachXBT investigation","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/"},{"date":"2026-03-15","event":"Approximately $5.3 million in proceeds from the 185 BTC theft allegedly arrived in wallet 0x4487db847db2fc99372a985743a26f46e0b2bba6, attributed to Kapllani by ZachXBT.","source":"Coinpedia / ZachXBT investigation","source_url":"https://coinpedia.org/news/zachxbt-names-teen-behind-19-million-crypto-theft-who-flaunted-it-on-instagram/"},{"date":"2026-04-23","event":"Kapllani allegedly screen-shared his Exodus wallet displaying approximately $3.68 million in cryptocurrency during a 'band 4 band' Discord competition; wallet address later traced to stolen funds.","source":"CCN / ZachXBT investigation","source_url":"https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/zachxbt-band-4-band-flex-crypto-theft-dritan-kapllani-jr-19m/"},{"date":"2026-05-11","event":"US federal complaint unsealed by the Southern District of Florida charging Trenton Johnston with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering; complaint designates Kapllani as uncharged 'Co-Conspirator 1.'","source":"DOJ SDFL press release","source_url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/canadian-illegal-alien-and-co-conspirator-charged-13-million-cryptocurrency-fraud"},{"date":"2026-05-12","event":"ZachXBT published a public exposé naming Dritan Kapllani Jr. and linking his wallets to approximately $19 million in social engineering thefts.","source":"Crypto Times","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/"},{"date":"2026-05-15","event":"ZachXBT reported that Kapllani moved approximately $2.59 million in DAI and ETH through three wallet hops to address 0x67ec1d405e53ed13a19eb77a9db19186723d125d following his public identification; Kapllani remained uncharged as of this date.","source":"Cryptopolitan","source_url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/dritan-kapllani-moves-funds-zachxbt-exposure/"},{"date":"2026-06-01","event":"Trenton Johnston pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; Brandon Tardibone pleaded guilty to the same charge for laundering Johnston's proceeds through a Miami luxury car dealership.","source":"Benzinga / CBC News","source_url":"https://www.benzinga.com/crypto/cryptocurrency/26/06/53185703/we-smacked-a-185-bitcoin-target-canadian-teen-pleads-guilty-in-13-million-crypto-fraud-case"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/12/teenager-exposed-for-19m-social-engineering-crypto-theft-federal-charges-filed/","name":"ZachXBT Exposes Dritan Kapllani Jr. For $19M Social Engineering Crypto Theft — Crypto 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