A Scottish court has sentenced convicted cybercriminal Robert Barr to eight years in prison after he admitted directing a failed plot to steal up to £2 million, or about $2.66 million, in cryptocurrency while incarcerated at HMP Edinburgh.
According to the sentencing account, the scheme combined remote-access software with planned break-ins at victims’ homes. Prosecutors said Barr used an illicit phone from his cell to identify targets, organize surveillance and instruct accomplices on how to force quick access to victims’ computers and crypto holdings.
Court describes prison-led organized crime plan
At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Cubie said the attempted theft blended “21st-century computer sophistication” with “old-fashioned housebreaking.” The judge said the operation was apparently devised and directed from a prison cell and was aimed at cryptocurrency worth as much as £2 million.
The court described Barr as the head of an organized crime group and characterized him as a sophisticated cybercriminal capable of coordinating an unusually high level of offending within a mainstream criminal investigation. The case centered on a plan to use physical intrusion to support online theft.
How the attempted crypto theft was meant to work
The sentencing statement said Barr intended for accomplices to enter targets’ homes and get them onto their computers quickly, allowing him to use AnyDesk remote-access software to take control of the machines. From there, the objective was to drain cryptocurrency stored in hardware wallets.
Messages presented in court outlined that approach in Barr’s own words. In one text, he said he would send a website for “the boys” to make a target visit and told associates they could phone him on Telegram so he could guide them from the house and “keep them right.” He also wrote that once inside, they would need to get the victim to a PC fast.
Attempt failed when targets did not open the door
Lord Cubie said the plan was ultimately thwarted because the intended victims did not open their front door at 11:30 p.m. to unknown men dressed in dark clothing with their faces obscured. That failed contact prevented the group from moving to the stage where Barr could remotely access a computer and attempt to seize digital assets.
The court record also referred to an earlier raid. In another message cited at sentencing, Barr wrote, “I had his house robbed a few months ago by boys in here.” During the failed April attempt, one intruder reportedly asked, “Is that a camera right in front of me?”
Sentences for Barr and accomplices
Barr received an eight-year sentence after pleading guilty to involvement in serious organized crime. Two accomplices were also sentenced in the case: Sean Favier received four years and Iain Doyle was given five years.
The confirmed outcome from the hearing is the prison terms imposed on the three men. The court’s account frames the case as an example of how crypto-related theft attempts can extend beyond online breaches alone, with investigators and the judiciary focusing on the overlap between digital targeting and conventional break-in tactics.
Source: dailyhodl.com