A Los Angeles Police Department officer has been convicted in a brazen cryptocurrency-related home invasion.

Former officer Eric Halem, 38, was found guilty of kidnapping and bitcoin robbery by a Los Angeles County jury following a two-week trial at Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The charges stem from a December 28, 2024, incident in which Halem and three alleged accomplices posed as police officers to gain entry into a high-rise apartment in Koreatown, targeting a 17-year-old cryptocurrency holder.

Jurors deliberated for less than a day before returning guilty verdicts on both counts.

Halem now faces sentencing on March 31, with prosecutors indicating he could receive a life sentence.

According to reports, the group accessed the building using an entry code allegedly obtained from a conspirator who had rented the apartment to the teenager.

After taking the elevator to the 18th floor in the early morning hours, the men restrained the victim, identified only as Daniel, and his girlfriend.

She was placed in LAPD-issued handcuffs, while Daniel was subdued and cuffed as the suspects demanded a hard drive containing private keys to roughly $350,000 in bitcoin.

Daniel testified that the men threatened to kill him if he refused, saying he surrendered the device under the fear of being shot.

Deputy District Attorney Jane Brownstone told jurors that Halem violated his oath, highlighting post-robbery text messages in which he claimed to be monitoring police radio traffic and expressed concern that arrested accomplices were “talking.”

Halem, who served 13 years with the LAPD before leaving in 2022 but was still acting as a reserve officer at the time, also operated a luxury car rental company called DriveLA and had explored side ventures including a remote-acting audition app and a potential reality television project.

His attorney, Megan Maitia, challenged the prosecution’s case, arguing investigators selectively relied on text messages and failed to fully corroborate the teenager’s account.

She also noted that the suspects drove to the scene in a green Range Rover and an orange Lamborghini Urus registered to Halem’s rental business and fitted with GPS trackers, questioning whether a carefully planned crime would involve such traceable vehicles.

Although Daniel admitted during testimony that he acquired his bitcoin through fraudulent means, that disclosure did not negate the robbery charge.

Halem did not testify, the defense called no witnesses, and his co-defendants, including Gabby Ben, 51, who has prior fraud convictions, have yet to stand trial and continue to deny the allegations.