Police are looking for a trio of perps who allegedly tied up a man and robbed him of $20,000 during a meeting gone wrong in Lower Manhattan last week.
The incident occurred on Saturday, April 27, at approximately 5 p.m. The victim, a 40-year-old man, told police that his friend arranged a meeting for him with an unknown person to exchange cash for cryptocurrency inside the Sonder Battery Park Hotel, located at 2 Washington St. According to police, the two men met in the lobby of the hotel before heading to a room on the third floor to do the exchange.
That is when things went awry.
Once the door was opened, police said, the suspect violently shoved the victim into the room and onto the floor when two other suspects appeared. Acting in concert, the suspects pummeled the victim with punches before tying him up with tape around his ankles, wrists and mouth, according to law enforcement sources.
Once the victim was immobilized, the attackers snatched $20,000 from his bag and fled the room to parts unknown, police said.
Cops from the 1st Precinct responded to a 911 call about the incident, though it is unclear who made the call.
Police released photos of the suspects, all of whom are men believed to be approximately 18 to 22 years old and between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall with slim builds and black hair.
One suspect was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, black bubble jacket, black pants and black-and-white sneakers. Another suspect was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, eyeglasses and black-and-white sneakers.
The third suspect was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black sunglasses and black-and-white sneakers.
So far no arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website and on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
