A Canadian influencer abducted in June was found dead in a Quebec park late last month.
The body of Kevin Mirshahi, a crypto influencer who lived in Quebec, Canada, was found in the Île-de-la-Visitation Park, police officials told local media outlet The Gazette. His decomposing remains were spotted by a passerby in the park at around 10 am on October 30, with the body being pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed that the remains were of 25-year-old Mirshahi.
According to The Gazette’s earlier reporting, the influencer was last seen in June, when he and three other individuals were abducted from the parking area of his condo building. The three others managed to flee, but Mirshahi remained abducted.
The investigation into his abduction and death remains ongoing, according to the Canadian news agency, with one 32-year-old woman being arrested in connection to the case. Joanie Lepage was arrested three months ago, in August, for the first-degree murder of Mirshahi. She is believed to have murdered him on the day of his kidnapping and acted as an accomplice after the murder.
He owned and operated a crypto investment group called the Crypto Paradise Island. Many have complained about Mirshahi scamming them and losing their investments. Quebec’s financial regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has been investigating the influencer since 2021.
According to The Gazette, the agency placed a “ban on carrying out any activity as a broker or investment adviser, a ban on securities transactions and orders for the withdrawal of publications on social media and the withdrawal of the name of the AMF.”
Crypto-Related Violence on the Rise
While no reports on the intent of the killing have been made public, it is believed that Mirshahi was murdered due to not delivering his promises to his investors. The kidnapping could have been a way for the criminals to extort their lost funds. This trend is growing tremendously, with one Indian man, Shailesh Babulal Bhatt, extorting over a million dollars from the fraudulent BitConnect platform for scamming him. Indian authorities arrested the man for the kidnapping of two BitConnect associates and demanding payment for their release.
Beyond that, numerous influential individuals in the crypto space are facing severe threats to their safety. For instance, WonderFi’s CEO Dean Skurka was kidnapped in Toronto and ordered to transfer $1 million electronically for his release. He was freed the same day of his abduction last week.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
