A brutal wrench attack in San Francisco left a tech investor tortured and robbed of $11 million at a property owned by Lachy Groom, the former partner of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
An armed assailant posing as a delivery driver tortured a tech investor and stole $11 million in cryptocurrency during a violent wrench attack in San Francisco’s Mission District on Saturday evening. The targeted home invasion occurred at a property owned by Lachy Groom, a prominent venture capitalist and former partner of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, marking a significant escalation in physical crimes aimed at coercing private key transfers from high-net-worth individuals.
Anatomy of a Wrench Attack
The robbery employed a social engineering tactic designed to bypass cryptographic security. Around 6:45 p.m., a suspect disguised as a delivery driver buzzed the intercom at the Dorland Street home, carrying a white box and claiming to have a package for a resident named “Joshua.”
According to police reports, once the victim opened the door to sign for the delivery, the heist turned violent. The attacker brandished a firearm, forced entry, and bound the victim with duct tape.
For the next 90 minutes, the assailant executed a textbook wrench attack, a term used in the industry to describe the use of physical pain to extract digital assets. Sources familiar with the investigation state the victim was beaten and doused with liquid while the attacker held a phone on speaker, allowing foreign accomplices to verify the victim’s data in real-time.
The thieves successfully drained $11 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The Silicon Valley Connection
While the victim was a tenant, the property’s ownership has drawn significant attention to the specific social circle targeted. Property records confirm the home was purchased in 2021 by Lachy Groom, 31. Groom, an early employee at Stripe, previously dated Sam Altman.
Although Altman was not involved in the incident, the connection highlights that wrench attacks are increasingly targeting high-visibility figures in the tech sector whose addresses can be correlated with public wealth records.
‘Self-Custody Until It Isn’t’
The incident prompted immediate warnings from industry leaders regarding the dangers of residential self-custody. Jameson Lopp, co-founder of security firm Casa, maintains a database tracking these specific crimes.
His data indicates that physical crypto thefts have doubled globally this year, with over 60 reported incidents. Following the attack, Garry Tan (Y Combinator CEO) shared security footage of the suspect and issued a warning on X: “Self custody of crypto seems like a good idea until it isn’t. Vault storage (at Coinbase or elsewhere) for long term holding is safest.” The post has since been deleted.
Wrench Attack Investigation Status
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) confirmed officers arrived at the scene to find the victim suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made, and investigators are treating the incident as a targeted hit by an organized crime group due to the specific intelligence possessed by the attackers.
Chain Street’s Take
The attack shows how fast crypto crime is shifting from keyboards to front doors. A fake courier, a forced transfer, and $11 million gone in minutes. Anyone holding meaningful assets in self-custody is now a potential target if their real-world footprint is traceable. The lesson isn’t about fear. It’s about operational security: if your address, wealth, and routines line up, a hardware wallet won’t save you.
