FRANKLIN, Tenn. – A Franklin man is facing serious charges after allegedly making off with a substantial amount of cash and cryptocurrency from his ex-girlfriend.
Kirk West, 58, was arrested July 24 for theft over $250,000, accused of stealing hundreds of thousands in cash and millions in digital currency.
Crypto Heist from Country Music Icon’s Widow
West was taken into custody at the Nashville International Airport. He’s currently held in the Williamson County Jail on a $1 million bond.
Photo: FPD
The alleged victim is Nancy Jones, widow of the legendary country music star George Jones. Franklin Police, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and airport authorities, investigated the theft.
Millions Vanish from Safes
According to a court affidavit, Jones had asked her granddaughter to secure her cash and jewelry from a safe. This was after she suspected West of infidelity. Upon checking, Jones discovered a significant sum of money was missing.
West reportedly stole $400,000 in U.S. currency. He also took 5,534,307 XRP Ledger cryptocurrency, valued at over $10 million, from two safes.
The affidavit states, “Mr. West was the only person besides Ms. Jones who had the private key, essentially a PIN code to access the wallet.” This access facilitated the alleged digital asset theft.
Did you know? XRP Ledger is a decentralized blockchain technology used for fast, low-cost payments.
Partial Recovery, Lingering Loss
Jones managed to recover most of the cryptocurrency with legal help. However, 483,205 XRP, worth approximately $1 million, remains unaccounted for.
West, described as a “long-time romantic partner,” was kicked out of Jones’ Canterbury Rise home on June 28. Following the incident, West allegedly called Jones and admitted to taking the funds. He reportedly stated he would return $5 million in cryptocurrency but nothing more.
