In 2012, someone stole 50,000 bitcoin from the Silk Road, an illegal dark web marketplace. Over time, the value of the stolen bitcoin skyrocketed to more than $3 billion dollars and for years it remained one of the biggest mysteries in the world of cryptocurrency.
But the 911 call that came in on the night of March 13, 2019, was unlike anything the Athens-Clarke County Police Department had ever encountered. Martinelli had recently undergone surgery to amputate one leg, leaving her to conduct her surveillance operations with the help of a prosthetic."When you wake up and don't put two feet on the ground, but you still have to run a company, you got to get out there and kick ass," Martinelli told CNBC in an interview for the new documentary,"
She said she began her investigation by putting Zhong's friends under surveillance, following them to their homes and downtown bars on Broad Street and College Avenue. She put trackers on cars and scoured social media and conducted background checks. What had captured the investigators' attention was a 2012 hack in which someone had stolen 50,000 bitcoins from a site on the dark web called, according to court documents CNBC reviewed. That site was one of the earliest crypto marketplaces, where anonymous buyers and sellers exchanged all manner of illicit material. It was full of drugs, guns, pornography and other stuff people wanted to keep secret.
In reality, they were investigating Zhong for a crime they believed he had committed. A crime whose proceeds were now worth billions of dollars. The body camera footage also shows they got a good look at Zhong's security system, asking him to explain each of its features and capabilities. Zhong is also captured showing them a metal case he said he once used to store $1 million in cash so he could impress a woman.The law enforcement officers learned that Zhong had a flamethrower on the premises. And they saw his AR-15 rifle hanging on the wall.
Before the officers raided the house, McAleenan had to explain to Zhong that he wasn't really trying to help him. He was trying to convict him. As they sorted through the evidence, agents discovered something else about the unusual Mr. Zhong. He was, in crypto slang, an"original gangster," or OG.