John Daghita
Summary
John Daghita, age 25, known online as 'Lick,' is a US national arrested on March 4, 2026, on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in a joint FBI and French Gendarmerie operation. He is alleged to have stolen more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from wallets managed by the US Marshals Service through insider access tied to CMDSS, a Virginia-based private contractor operated by his father, Dean Daghita. Following his public identification by blockchain investigator ZachXBT in January 2026, Daghita launched the $LICK meme coin on Pump.fun while allegedly controlling approximately 40% of total supply; the token surged before crashing 97%, and Pump.fun delisted it mid-trading.
Connected Entities
1 entitiesTimeline(11 events)
2024-03-01
Approximately $24.9 million allegedly transferred from a US government-controlled wallet (holding Bitfinex-seized assets) to addresses later attributed to Daghita by ZachXBT.
TRM Labs / CoinDesk2024-10-01
CMDSS awarded a contract by the US Marshals Service to manage and dispose of seized Class 2–4 digital assets, reportedly valued at approximately $4 million.
The Register2024-10-15
Approximately $20 million allegedly drained from a US government seizure wallet in a separate incident; most funds reportedly recovered within 24 hours, but roughly $700,000 routed through instant exchanges was not recovered. The incident was not publicly disclosed at the time.
TRM Labs2026-01-23
ZachXBT observes and records a Telegram band-for-band exchange in which a user known as 'Lick' screen-shares a live wallet and broadcasts fund transfers, inadvertently providing real-time on-chain attribution. ZachXBT publicly identifies the individual as John Daghita, son of CMDSS president Dean Daghita. The US Marshals Service opens an investigation.
CoinDesk2026-01-23
Following public exposure, funds in wallets attributed to Daghita begin moving through mixers and cross-chain bridges in an apparent obfuscation effort.
TRM Labs2026-01-24
$LICK meme coin launched on Pump.fun on the Solana blockchain by an address subsequently linked on-chain by Bubblemaps to the alleged government theft wallets. Deployer holds approximately 40% of total supply.
CryptoPotato / CoinTelegraph2026-01-25
$LICK token peaks at approximately $915,000 market capitalization before collapsing more than 97% within 24 hours. Pump.fun delists the token mid-trading.
Yahoo Finance / CryptoPotato2026-02-06
Fortune publishes an investigation into US Marshals Service crypto custody practices and broader systemic risks exposed by the alleged insider theft.
Fortune2026-03-04
John Daghita arrested on the island of Saint Martin in a joint FBI and French Gendarmerie operation. A briefcase containing cash, hardware wallets, USB drives, and a passport are seized at the scene.
Fox News / CoinDesk / Bloomberg2026-03-05
FBI Director Kash Patel publicly announces the arrest, confirming the allegation of more than $46 million stolen from the US Marshals Service and stating that extradition proceedings will be pursued.
Bloomberg / Fox NewsDecision Log
- hash: 5yKG5UESmoxMhdmQhZT8TQgS3YJ71guJFHdMu3iATnEQ
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/25/2026, 6:25:34 PM
last updated: 5/25/2026, 7:38:43 PM
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