UPDATED 7/30, 4:34 p.m. ET: The crypto millionaire who was found cut up in pieces inside a suitcase in Argentina had received messages threatening to dismember him in the week before his demise.
According to Argentian outlet Télam, a man had sent messages to the crypto millionaire named Fernando Pérez Algaba that were filled with violent threats. The man promised to kill Algaba in a gruesome way including cutting out his eyes and chopping off his hands.
“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to do something worse to you,” the man identified as Iglesias said in a voice message to Algaba before he disappeared. “I’m going to gouge out your eyes and cut off your hands so that you can’t have any more money in your life. I swear on my children that I have no problem going to jail.”
In another voicemail Iglesias left for Algaba, he stated that the influencer needs to see him face to face while also accusing him of betrayal. “You betrayed me, and you caught me. I have a poison with you that I hate you,” Iglesias said in the message.
A second man identified as Adrian Tesei told Algaba there was an issue between them because he didn't receive money that was initially said to have been delievered. “I’m not threatening you,” Tesei told Algaba. “I’m telling you that I’m going to rip off your head. The money is mine, and you don’t play with mine.”
See original story below:
Police have launched a murder investigation after the dismembered remains of 41-year-old crypto influencer Fernando Pérez Algaba were found by children in Argentina, per The New York Post.
Algaba, who broadcasted his extravagant lifestyle funded by crypto investments on his Instagram account, was reported missing on Tuesday, July 18. On Sunday, July 23 a group of children playing soccer discovered a red suitcase near a stream in Ingeniero Budge, Buenos Aires. The children notified police of the discovery and when authorities arrived they found the suitcase contained Algaba's legs and at least one forearm.
On Wednesday, July 26, his torso and head were discovered, El País reported. Buenos Aires police said that they were able to identify the body parts thanks to Algaba's tattoos and fingerprints. The body parts were described as cleanly cut, which would suggest it was a professional hit of some kind. An autopsy showed that he was shot at least three times before his body was dismembered.
Before the discovery of his body parts, the Barcelona-based Algaba had been staying in Argentina for at least a week in a rented property. He was scheduled to return the keys to the property on Wednesday, July 19. Police have launched a murder investigation and have arrested one suspect in connection with his murder.
According to Argentina's tax agency, Algaba's Buenos Aires-based crypto trading company Motors Lettuce SRL was in serious debt. Per La Nacion, he left a note on his phone about losing a lot of money on various crypto investments shortly before he went missing. He also alluded to getting a hefty loan from the Argentinian gang Barra Bravas and wrote, "If something happens to me, everyone is already warned."
In an interview with local media, his brother Rodolfo Pérez Algaba insisted he was "not a scammer" and had simply underperformed when he entered the crypto space. “I’ve been here for three days and hardly sleep, thinking, breaking my head, how could this happen,” he declared. “But I’m not going to sit still, I’m not going to do justice with my own hands, but I hope that justice will be done.”
