On Wednesday, May 21, a group of six attempted to abduct the wife of Sébastien Borget, co-founder and COO of Ethereum-based metaverse platform The Sandbox, at the couple's home in Villenoy, Seine-et-Marne. The attack follows a documented national pattern: France has recorded 135 crypto-targeted kidnappings and violent incidents since 2023, nearly 80% of all European cases.
According to police sources cited in Le Journal de Dimanche, one suspect approached the residence disguised as a deliveryman carrying a cardboard box. When Borget's wife opened the gate, five accomplices rushed the courtyard and attempted to drag her into a Citroën C3. Neighbors intervened and the attackers fled. Two teenagers — Mateo V., born 2010, and Walid H., born 2009, both from Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis — were arrested. Authorities found a fake handgun, zip-tie restraints, and balaclavas on them. Four suspects remain at large.
Borget acknowledged the incident on X on May 21: "Thank you for the outpouring of love, thoughtful messages, and deeply caring words for my family. We're truly touched by your kindness and support."
The attack is not an isolated case. French authorities have recorded 41 crypto-related kidnappings and home invasions in 2026 alone — roughly one every two to three days — per a statement by Minister Delegate Jean-Didier Berger at Paris Blockchain Week in April. The National Directorate of the Judicial Police has traced 135 incidents total since 2023. France accounts for close to 80% of all such cases in Europe.
In May, France's National Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office (PNACO) announced charges against 88 suspects across 12 active judicial investigations, with 75 placed in pre-trial detention. More than ten of those charged are minors. Prosecutors described the perpetrators as "structured criminal networks" running repeat operations across the country.
The case history is severe. Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped and mutilated in a ransom attack. A home invasion targeted the Binance France CEO. A magistrate and her mother were abducted to coerce a crypto ransom. Now a founder's wife is targeted at the gate of her own home by teenagers armed with restraints.
The French government has moved to treat the wave as a security priority. Berger announced a prevention platform at Paris Blockchain Week 2026 and said enhanced protection is being extended to select crypto executives and their families. Police motorcades escorted conference guests in Paris in April. Armed security accompanied arrivals to a dinner at Versailles.
What the pattern shows is not random opportunism. The targeting of founders, executives, and now their families by organized gangs using professional tools — disguises, restraints, multiple-vehicle operations, coordinated accomplices — points to a threat model that has outpaced what most crypto wealth holders plan for. Physical security, once an afterthought for the industry, is now a line item the French state is covering for some. For everyone else, it is not.
Sources: Le Journal de Dimanche (police sources, May 21, 2026); Decrypt (May 21, 2026); CoinDesk (April 19, 2026); PNACO press release via Decrypt (May 2026); X/@borgetsebastien (May 21, 2026)