Businessman Beaten With Hammers as Crypto Thieves Threaten to Kill Unborn Baby in Solihull Home Invasion

A businessman was assaulted with hammers by three masked intruders who forced their way into his family home and threatened to kill his heavily pregnant wife unless he handed over hundreds of thousands of pounds in cryptocurrency, the BBC has learned.

The couple, who have asked to remain anonymous, described the ordeal as "horrific" and said they genuinely feared for the life of their unborn child during the 45-minute attack at their home in Solihull in December last year. The case is now the subject of a police investigation, and the charity Crimestoppers has announced a £10,000 reward for information that helps identify those responsible.

The attack, captured on home security cameras, is being treated by specialists as an example of a growing phenomenon known as a "wrench attack" — a violent robbery in which criminals physically coerce cryptocurrency holders into transferring their digital assets. Unlike conventional bank robberies, these crimes target the owner directly rather than an institution, because crypto holdings are typically controlled through personal wallets and devices.

The victim, referred to by the BBC as James, said the violence began without warning when the door to his home was pushed open. He described seeing gloved hands and balaclavas as three intruders burst inside. James attempted to resist, but the men struck him repeatedly in the face, head and ribs with hammers, leaving him with major injuries that required hospital treatment.

While James was being beaten, one of the attackers pinned his wife — then seven months pregnant — to the sofa and held a pillow over her face. James said he could hear her screaming that she could not breathe as the man suffocated her. At that point, neither of them understood what the intruders wanted.

The situation became clearer when one of the men ordered James to unlock his phone and hand it over. According to James, the attackers seemed to know he owned cryptocurrency but appeared unfamiliar with how to access it. Instead, they were following instructions relayed by someone else through a live video call.

James said he could hear a man on FaceTime directing the others, telling them to show him everything on the phone and to list which apps were installed. When the person on the call spotted a crypto wallet containing significant funds, the threats intensified sharply.

"He was basically saying: 'Look, if you don't send us this money now, we're going to stab your wife in the stomach and kill your baby. We're going to kill your wife,'" James told the BBC. His wife described the episode, which unfolded over roughly three-quarters of an hour, as terrifying. She said she believed James had been killed when she saw him lying motionless on the floor.

The woman, in her early thirties and expecting her third child, said she worried the extreme stress of the attack could cause her to lose the baby. The child survived and was later born at full term. After James transferred his savings — hundreds of thousands of pounds in cryptocurrency — to the digital wallet of the man on the video call, the attackers left. They also took several luxury Rolex watches.

James said that as the men were leaving, he heard the man on the call tell his accomplices they could each keep £10,000, but that he would take the rest. The detail suggests a level of organisation behind the robbery, with the on-screen figure apparently directing the operation remotely while others carried out the violence.

Experts say such attacks have become increasingly common as the value of digital currencies has risen. Cryptocurrency is often self-custodied, meaning the owner alone controls access through a digital wallet or hardware device, with no bank or other institution able to freeze or reverse a transaction. That combination of speed, anonymity and irreversibility makes crypto holders attractive targets for organised crime.

Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has reported a surge in violent crypto robberies in recent years. According to its research, around $30m (£22.6m) was stolen in such attacks up to June this year, putting 2026 on course to become the worst year on record for violent crypto theft. The firm also found that home invasions have risen this year.

The United States, Brazil and Thailand have been identified as hotspots, but France has recorded by far the largest number of attacks, a trend researchers link to a data breach at a tax office that appears to have helped criminals locate wealthy crypto holders. In their report, Chainalysis researchers noted that the physical security protections surrounding traditional wealth — such as bank vaults and armoured vehicles — do not automatically extend to crypto. Holders frequently store assets in relatively low-security arrangements, they said, which can be compromised without any institutional gatekeeper standing in the way.

James said he began investing in crypto as an amateur in 2020 and made enough money to leave his job in 2023 and trade full time. He has now lost everything and is looking to return to his previous line of work. He added that he holds little hope of recovering the stolen funds, and that his priority is seeing those responsible brought to justice.

Police have not yet identified the attackers. Crimestoppers is offering £10,000 for information that leads to progress in the investigation. Alan Edwards, from the charity, said he hoped members of the public might recognise the three attackers, the getaway driver — who was waiting outside without a face covering — or the man on the phone. He described the criminals as serious offenders and part of an organised crime gang, and sought to reassure potential witnesses that Crimestoppers operates independently of the police and keeps all information completely anonymous.

The three attackers are believed to be in their late teens or early twenties. One is described as a Black male with a scar beneath his left eyebrow. The investigation continues.