Latest news with #Siragusa
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Forbes
Amouranth's Home Invasion Underscores Targeting Of Bitcoin Holders
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 07: Amouranth accepts the Favorite Creator Site Star fan award during ... More the 2023 Adult Video News Awards at Resorts World Las Vegas on January 07, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) The assault on Kaitlyn Siragusa —better known as Amouranth— at her Houston home has reignited conversations around digital safety. Now that she has released the full footage of the March 2 break-in, Amouranth's home invasion underscores targeting of bitcoin holders and raises concerns over the growing risks faced by high-profile influencers and crypto investors worldwide. Luckily, Siragusa's husband, Nick Lee, was able to repel the attack by shooting one of the thieves, and the streamer suffered just minor injuries as New York Post reported on March 29. I asked Siragusa to share more details about this tragic event; what would she change about her reaction and setup? What are her next steps now that she experienced being a target? What others can learn from this horrible experience? Internet fame brings a lot of attention, which unfortunately could lead to physical incidents like those Amouranth and her husband experienced. Prevention is the name of the game in this situation. Siragusa had a system in place, but it wasn't enough. "I went with a big brand name company that had set up gunshot detectors and glass break detectors, and the only thing that went off when shots were fired was a fire alarm. As far as how the situation was handled, per the police, it sounds like it couldn't have gone better," Amouranth explained to me through X's direct messages. One key element to understanding the content creator's security setup is that as per her husband explained in an interview, they're used to be swated. Also, there's no direct access to Siragusa's BTC and ETH holdings at home. "I have always had my cold storage house remotely in a heavily secured location (not at home) just to be clear," she told me. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder With Amouranth's home invasion, there were three violent episodes targeting crypto investors reported just in March. The other two incidents happened in Hong Kong, on March 14 and March 28, as local media reported. This trend is accelerating, underscoring how critical it is for investors and holders to improve their security and start dealing more privately with this kind of online investment. In this context, flaunting posts related to crypto-wealth should be restricted, even totally avoided. Back in late 2024, Amouranth posted some Bitcoin and Ether holdings on X, which drew way more attention to the content creator. The content creator's posts regarding the incident were labeled as dubious, even after the publication of the full footage of the incident. "There have been official police reports, press covering the arrests of the individuals, tweets by the police union, and as you mentioned I released all of the security footage. Despite all that, there are still people out there who don't believe that it actually happened or, worse, that I deserved what happened. At some point you have to accept what you can't change and move forward. If I gave in to internet haters then I wouldn't be where I am today," Siragusa argued. 'Despite the horrors of that night, it just goes to show how insensitive an online audience is and how much vitriol people are capable of showing when they're behind a screen. I could have died that night and people still would have believed it was faked,' she underscored. Amouranth's home invasion marks a new episode in a concerning trend that is accelerating. With the important bull run that bitcoin and crypto assets experienced in the last months, investors should be more careful in regard to information about their holdings and try to avoid any coment, post or interaction that could turn them into a target.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
A Notorious Twitch Streamer Was Robbed. Why Didn't Anyone Believe Her?
Kaitlyn 'Amouranth' Siragusa had multiple blows to the head and a gun pointed at her face, but she had to put on a performance, and she knew it needed to be convincing. It was late at night on March 2. Three intruders had broken into her home in Houston, Texas — a two-building complex — and they were intent on leaving with a bounty. The trio didn't know it, but Siragusa wasn't exactly alone. Her husband, Nick Lee, was using the bathroom in the other building on the property. The two were on a call as the men shot her door open, she says. Lee says he listened silently as one of the men pistol whipped his wife. The intruders kept asking her the same question: Where's the crypto? Siragusa couldn't simply hand it over; crypto is a digital currency that's stored in an ecosystem that's inherently traceable. The aggressors couldn't just walk away, crypto in hand, in the same way that they could with physical valuables like cash or jewelry. More from Rolling Stone Amanda Knox May Never Be 'Free.' She's Learning to Live With That Trump Wants to Boost Crypto 'Stablecoins' (Which Are Far From Stable) 'Stream Sniping' Has Become a Nightmare for IRL Creators - But What Is It? 'I was just thinking, they're going to keep beating me if I don't just pretend I know where the crypto is,' Siragusa tells Rolling Stone. And so she told them she would take them to it, just like they asked. Lee was still on the line, and figured he knew where she was taking them. Siragusa had experienced years of threats, harassment, and stalkers, and had built a panic room in case of just such an incident. Lee says he intercepted the group there, gun in hand, and signaled at Siragusa to get down. He fired multiple shots. The burglars ran away. Then, Lee hopped on Twitter. 'I'm being too robbed at gunpoint,' he posted from Amouranth's official account, to her nearly 4 million followers. 'I believe I shot one of them. They wanted crypto is what they were yelling they pulled me out of bed.' A Houston Police Department representative confirmed that shots were fired during the exchange, though at first, it was unclear if anyone was caught in the fire. What was known, however, is that Siragusa required a trip to the hospital, where she received treatment for lacerations on the top of her head. As the news began to spread, social media onlookers couldn't help but be skeptical. For years, Siragusa has pulled stunts, like selling jars full of her farts, bottles of her used bath water, and crafted beer made with her own vaginal yeast. She's long claimed she wants to build an animal sanctuary with the money she makes online — only to visibly spend millions on other investments. This, they figured, was just another cry for attention. They also thought the timing was suspicious — a week before the harrowing incident, Siragusa was facing criticism for comments she made about the LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles. The break-in also coincided with a wave of accounts from high profile women on Twitch that detailed scary encounters with fans. Yet in the aftermath of the ordeal, as more facts of her story are confirmed, it seems that the doubt cast on her was just another example of the misogyny that's regularly levied against women online. SIRAGUSA, 31, IS CURRENTLY one of the top five most-followed women on Twitch. She's also one of the most notorious personalities on the site, a badge she wears with pride. After joining in 2016, Siragusa acquired some fans through risqué cosplay, but her real infamy began in the advent of what's known as the 'hot tub meta,' a cheeky if not reductive term used to refer to personalities getting on camera in swimsuits while hanging out in hot tubs, often just chatting casually with their fans. Since Twitch is primarily a website where people go to watch others play video games, the hot tub meta was seen as a ploy for women to show off their bodies, and rack up views. Siragusa was by far the most visible content creator who used the format, and the stigma has stuck with her years after the fact. But her fanbase — and bank accounts — only grew. At one point, she launched an AI version of herself that viewers could chat with, which she claims made $34,000 in its first day. She started an OnlyFans account, and bought a Circle-K gas station as an investment. In late 2024, Siragusa shared a screenshot boasting Bitcoin holdings to the tune of $20 million. The most prominent Twitch streamers rise to the top through a mixture of creativity, personality, and a tireless work ethic. Siragusa's ascension and reliance on her sex appeal was therefore treated like a hack in an otherwise merit-based system, where the only honorable pathway is forged through video game expertise and a chaste personality. Siragusa's success is the inevitable outcome, some would imply, of what happens when beauty is weaponized to a legion of hopeful young men with disposable income who, incidentally, aren't aware that the object of their affection is already married. Though Lee was cast as a hero in their recounting — first told to streamer Adin Ross — audiences were also unsure if they could consider him trustworthy. In 2022, Siragusa told her viewers in a now-deleted livestream that she was a victim of abuse, and that her husband purportedly had forced her into doing extended livestreams while wearing uncomfortable clothes. Siragusa shared audio that appeared to feature a man yelling at her, as well as threatening text messages that she claims were also sent by her husband. Lee, she claimed at the time, held the key to her social media accounts and finances. (Lee did not publicly respond to the allegations at the time, and Rolling Stone's request for comment was not immediately returned.) The two reportedly split, and Siragusa claimed she was in control of her image and platforms. Later, when Siragusa kept producing the same type of risque content, she claimed that she couldn't just adopt an entirely new business model without inconveniencing the team she had built to support her media empire. Seeing Lee suddenly in the picture again, and prominently, confused audiences. Was this not the same man she had decried three years ago? AS THE QUESTIONS SWIRLED online, Siragusa and Lee began the hard work of proving their story. Compounding the controversy was the way people found out about the robbery at all: two tweet threads. It came across as if Siragusa was live tweeting the entire thing, which, critics countered, didn't seem like something someone would do if they were in serious trouble. Siragusa's account of bleeding after being repeatedly hit by the robbers seemed especially dubious when Siragusa live streamed the day after the robbery and appeared to have no visible injuries or stitches. 'Show us a picture,' a commenter demanded in the top reply. Siragusa didn't post a picture, but she did share security footage. In it, she can be seen running toward the camera with a few men in tow. There's a dog running after them, and the group goes off frame. Two shots ring out, and the men go running back in the same direction they came in. The video was tiny, which made discerning details difficult. 'This seems staged,' reads one top reply on Twitter. Similarly, viewers nitpicked an image Siragusa shared of her door frame, which was purportedly shot open. For some, the bullet holes seemed too neat to be real, which led to theories that Siragusa had drilled the holes herself. During our call, Lee clarified that Siragusa wasn't tweeting in between pistol whips. In actuality, he says, he was the one who posted for her. He also says that he called the police before saving Siragusa. Doing so was a gamble, though: their household is a common target for 'swatting.' Siragusa claims that trolls have tricked Houston police into thinking she is undergoing an emergency enough times that the station will apparently now check her livestreams before responding to a call. 'I was telling the dispatch, like, you have to send someone right now,' Lee says. 'This is an armed situation, she's being held hostage. And then even as I said that, I was like, 'Oh no, they're not going to believe me.'' They did, and by the time help arrived, the adrenaline was subsiding. Lee says that he looked at Siragusa and noticed the blood right away. 'Me and the first responders [were] like, 'Wait, are you hit?' Because it looked like it for a moment,' Lee says. The couple says they've considered releasing hospital records for the people who believed it was all a hoax. However, both claimed that the police had cautioned them about what information they could release and its potential impact on the investigation. Rather than defending her husband's reputation outright on social media, Siragusa stuck to posting celebratory photos, like a note he apparently wrote her after the two had dinner out. The duo also say that they're repairing some of the damage from the robbery and upgrading their security systems, which they estimate will cost up to six figures. Though they came out of the debacle mostly intact, they feel that their safety measures came up short when it mattered most. At this point, they're considering hiring staff to monitor their security cameras at all times, as well as guard dogs. For Siragusa, everything that's transpired since the robbery has felt surreal. On March 14, four teen boys between the ages of 16 and 19 were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. She says that the police found the teens through the 'Find My' feature on a MacBook that they stole from Siragusa. On social media, Siragusa claimed that she initially saw that the laptop was taken to the same hospital that treated her after the attack. Houston Police would later say that they tracked down the suspects due to a report of a stolen vehicle, which led to the discovery of school paperwork with one of their names. When the alleged getaway driver was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal, police found a bloodstain in his backseat. According to police, he confessed to being the getaway driver, and told them that he'd taken one of the suspects to the hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound. The four suspects have not yet entered pleas but are set to be arraigned in April. On March 21, Siragusa shared a 14-minute cut of security footage that appears to show, from multiple cameras, three masked assailants breaking into her house, finding her, and her leading them to the other building. They can be heard shouting for her to hand over the crypto. 'I wish I didn't have to prove that the worst night of my life was real,' she wrote in the tweet. 'Too many people still think I made it up — I really wish it had been fake, or a prank. It wasn't.' With the dust settling, what of the skeptics? Some have gone on to wish Siragusa well, but it doesn't take much scrolling to find the unrepentant and unconvinced, holding onto the idea that Siragusa staged the whole thing for clicks. 'I just think they're kind of crazy to think that someone would willingly sign up to act in a crime scene and then let themselves get shot and have the police after them,' Siragusa says of the conspiracy theories that abounded in the wake of the robbery. 'People who are saying it's fake want to think it's fake because they don't want to believe, for whatever reason, that popular people can be victims. I don't know what their problem is. It's a weird mentality that I haven't quite understood.' Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
Express Tribune
22-03-2025
- Express Tribune
Twitch star Amouranth releases chilling footage from violent home invasion: Teens arrested in crypto heist
Kaitlyn Siragusa, widely known as 'Amouranth,' has released gripping footage from the violent home invasion that left her injured and shaken. I'm sharing the full security footage from the robbery. I wish I didn't have to prove that the worst night of my life was real. Too many people still think I made it up - I really wish it had been fake, or a prank. It wasn't. I still have nightmares. I was terrified, even… — Amouranth (@Amouranth) March 21, 2025 The popular gaming streamer and adult content creator was targeted in a brutal robbery on Sunday, March 2, in Houston, Texas. Three teens—Dylan Campbell, 18, Demarcus Morris, 17, and Bryan Salazar-Guerrero, 19—have since been arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. The attack, which occurred at 10:51 p.m., was allegedly motivated by Siragusa's social media posts revealing her cryptocurrency earnings, totaling over $20 million, according to Forbes. Armed robbers stormed her home, demanding access to her crypto accounts. When they were unable to gain access, they pistol-whipped her. Siragusa's husband, who had seen her social media posts and heard the commotion, was armed and waiting in another part of the home. As the intruders approached, he fired shots, hitting one of them. Surveillance footage captured the suspects fleeing, with one shouting, 'I got hit, I got shot.' In a tweet, Siragusa shared her ordeal, writing, 'They beat me before this video and pistol whipped me. The pummeling felt like it would never end, and I protected my head by putting my arms…' alongside a link to the footage. The investigation led authorities to an apartment complex, where stolen license plates and school paperwork with the name 'Demarcus Morri' provided crucial leads. A dark-colored Toyota, matching the vehicle used in the robbery, was later stopped in Galveston County. Salazar-Guerrero, the driver, admitted to being the getaway driver and revealed that Campbell had coordinated the crime. All three suspects were booked into the Harris County Jail, with bond set at 200,000forCampbell,200,000forCampbell,150,000 for Morris, and $100,000 for Salazar-Guerrero, who has since been released on bond. Siragusa was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and is now recovering. The incident has sparked widespread concern among her fans and the online community, highlighting the risks faced by public figures in the digital age.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
Four teens charged for alleged pistol-whipping, attempted Bitcoin robbery of OnlyFans influencer
Four teenagers in Houston, Texas, were charged Thursday for assaulting and trying to steal Bitcoin and Ethereum from an OnlyFans influencer in early March. Kaitlyn Siragusa, known online as 'Amouranth,' was sleeping in her home in northwest Houston when three men broke into her room and demanded cryptocurrency, reported FOX 26. Siragusa had previously posted on social media a screenshot of her more than $20 million in cryptocurrency balances, according to the New York Post. The three men allegedly pistol-whipped the OnlyFans influencer three times before Siragusa's husband fired shots at the suspects, who then fled Siragusa's home, according to FOX. The Harris County District Clerk's Office identified the three men on Friday as Demarcus Morris Jr., 17; Dylan Nesho Campbell, 18; and Bryan Anthony Salazar Guerrero, 19. Officials also identified a 16-year-old as a suspect. 'They brought duct tape and masks and were armed with handguns,' Siragusa posted on X. Lawyers for Morris and Campbell did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Guerrero's attorney declined to comment. The assault and attempted robbery is just one of a series of recent attacks on individuals with known crypto holdings. In late January, French police leapt into action after a group of criminals kidnapped David Balland, cofounder of the crypto hardware developer Ledger, and his wife, demanding a ransom in Bitcoin. French authorities, however, tracked down the kidnappers and rescued the couple. Balland's wife was found unharmed but the Ledger cofounder had his finger severed in the ordeal. The Paris prosecutor's office said that police had arrested 10 individuals alleged to be part of the kidnapping. And in February, six men were accused in a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit of kidnapping three family members and a nanny from a Chicago townhouse, according to the Chicago Tribune. The criminals released the victims after they forced the family to hand over more than $15 million in cryptocurrency. Crypto executives and wealthy crypto owners are taking notice. Some are hiring bodyguards to protect themselves from would-be attackers, according to WIRED. And others are buying up 'wrench-attack' insurance, or policies designed to insure individuals if they're the victims of a physical-force crypto robbery. 'In general the best things Bitcoiners can do to stay safe is to remain private,' Jameson Lopp, a famous early Bitcoiner, told Fortune. 'The goal should be to avoid becoming a target,' he said. 'Don't go around telling anyone about your Bitcoin holdings. Don't flaunt your wealth online or in meatspace. Don't engage in risk activities such as high-value face-to-face trades.' Update, March 17, 2025: Added in that the lawyers for the three named suspects either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
Amouranth Reveals ‘Total Panic' Moment After Tracking Stolen MacBook to the Same Hospital Where She Was Treated
Twitch and OnlyFans personality Kaitlyn Siragusa, widely known by her online alias Amouranth, has shared harrowing new details about the home invasion she suffered on March 2nd. The incident, which left Siragusa injured and forced her husband to open fire on armed intruders, has gripped the online creator community and sparked widespread concern about the safety of public figures with substantial digital wealth. According to law enforcement reports and Siragusa's own statements, three masked individuals forcibly entered her Houston-area home in the early hours of March 2nd. The assailants, armed with firearms, physically assaulted Siragusa and demanded access to her cryptocurrency assets, which are estimated to be worth over $20 million. During the violent confrontation, Siragusa was pistol-whipped and held at gunpoint. In a swift act of defense, her husband engaged the intruders with gunfire, wounding at least one of them and forcing the others to flee the scene. 'They were demanding access to my crypto. I was terrified. All I could think about was survival,' Siragusa recounted in a follow-up interview with People Magazine. Police and emergency responders arrived shortly after the incident. Siragusa was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. In the immediate aftermath, the severity of the break-in and the potential loss of millions in digital assets led many to believe the intruders had looted significant property. However, Siragusa has now revealed that only one object was taken during the invasion: her MacBook. On March 15, Siragusa broke her silence on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating: 'Now I can break some of my silence — the one object they took was a MacBook. With 'Find My' turned on. There was a moment of total panic after I got out of the hospital the night of the incident. I tracked the MacBook and was in disbelief that we were at the same hospital. I may have seen the one who was shot while I was being discharged. But at the time, I thought they were doing something far more sinister.' This chilling realization that she may have unknowingly seen one of the intruders being treated for gunshot wounds at the same hospital has added a deeply unsettling twist to an already terrifying ordeal. Houston police have since arrested four individuals in connection with the invasion. Among those taken into custody are Bryan Anthony Salazar Guerrero and a 17-year-old juvenile. Both suspects face multiple felony charges, including aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. According to Cointelegraph, the suspects had targeted Siragusa specifically due to her high-profile online presence and publicized cryptocurrency investments. The attempt to extort access to her digital wallets highlights growing security risks for influencers in the Web3 and streaming space. Siragusa's experience underscores the perils faced by online personalities, particularly those who display or are known to possess substantial digital assets. Despite the popularity and financial success that streaming and content creation can bring, it also exposes creators to unique security threats. The incident has prompted discussions across platforms about the need for enhanced personal security, privacy measures, and cautious management of publicly disclosed financial information. 'What happened to me can happen to anyone. People need to be aware of how exposed we are online,' Siragusa warned in her statement to followers. The streaming and content creation community has rallied in support of Siragusa, with fans and fellow creators expressing both relief at her survival and outrage at the invasion. Many have also urged others in the industry to consider investing in private security and to avoid sharing specific financial details online. Houston authorities have confirmed that the investigation remains active. More charges may be filed as forensic evidence and digital footprints from the stolen MacBook are analyzed. The post Amouranth Reveals 'Total Panic' Moment After Tracking Stolen MacBook to the Same Hospital Where She Was Treated appeared first on Where Is The Buzz | Breaking News, Entertainment, Exclusive Interviews & More.
