Robert Barr has been jailed for eight years on Tuesday for a £2 million cryptocurrency theft plot he directed from his prison cell in Edinburgh.
Lord Cubie sentenced Barr, 29, at the High Court in Glasgow after he pleaded guilty to being concerned in serious organized crime. His accomplices, Sean Favier, 26, and Iain Doyle, 37, also pleaded guilty. Favier received four years and Doyle five.
The Plan Hinged on AnyDesk
The plot targeted a husband and wife in Midlothian whose home had been burgled in January 2024. That break-in netted the husband’s crypto wallet, but the thieves lacked the PIN to open it. A US court in May jailed a $250 million theft ring member who broke into homes to steal hardware wallets.
Barr wrote to an associate: “I had his house robbed a few months ago by boys in here.” Barr then planned a second visit by Favier and Doyle. Both men were to get inside and make the husband download AnyDesk, a remote-access program, which would let Barr take over the computer from prison and move the crypto to accounts he controlled.
Scammers also used AnyDesk in the $243 million Bitcoin theft from a Genesis creditor in 2024.
Favier and Doyle reached the couple’s house at about 11:30 p.m. on April 17, 2024, with their faces covered. The couple saw them on camera and would not let them in, so the men left.
Officers at HMP Edinburgh seized Barr’s phone on June 25, 2024. Its messages showed months of intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, according to Lord Cubie. The judge said those messages also contemplated threats or violence.
Barr Was Already Serving Time
Barr had been jailed for 21 months over an earlier cryptocurrency fraud. He organized the new plot from his cell while serving that term, which Lord Cubie called an aggravating factor. Barr also admitted leading the organized crime group behind the attempt.
The judge said Barr’s culpability was high. He added that the harm stayed lower only because Favier and Doyle failed to get inside. Doyle’s lawyer said his client was homeless and joined for an offer of £100.
Lord Cubie said he would have imposed eight years and ten months after a trial, then reduced it for the guilty plea. The court will consider a serious crime prevention order against Barr on November 17.
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