Sebastián Marset, a Uruguayan national held in the United States after being extradited from Bolivia, has accused two U.S. federal agents of attempting to extort him to gain access to his cryptocurrency wallet, valued at approximately $4 million, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
In a letter sent from the detention center to federal judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., Marset claimed that the agents demanded the key to his cryptocurrency wallet. After he refused, they allegedly called his mother via WhatsApp, demanding photos of a notebook containing the access passwords.
The trafficker, who had been a fugitive since 2023 and was considered the most wanted South American narco in the region, also fired his lawyers — Eugene Rossi, from Washington DC, and Michael Padula, from Miami — for refusing to report the facts or file motions against the lead prosecutor in the case. "The messages are preserved and constitute direct written evidence of extortionate conduct," he wrote in the letter.
The new allegations were filed as court documents with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Marset was arrested on March 13 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and immediately extradited to the United States, where he faces money laundering conspiracy charges. At a hearing on April 1, prosecutors indicated they are considering expanding the charges beyond laundering through American banks, but so far have not filed a formal indictment for drug trafficking.
Upon his arrival at Dulles International Airport in Washington, Marset alleged that his rights were systematically violated. According to his statement to the judge, his requests for a lawyer were ignored, and he was subjected to interrogation, with authorities allegedly altering his official statements by recording pleas of not guilty as confessions. Washington-based attorney Robert Feitel has taken over as the Uruguayan's new defense counsel.
In Paraguay, Marset is linked to the A Ultranza PY case, a major drug trafficking prosecution that involved Juan Carlos Ozorio.