A taxi passenger who cheated death on camera at the hands of a machete-wielding gang, in shocking footage which went viral, is now languishing in a Californian jail over an alleged plot to steal £125,000 in cryptocurrency.
Bilal Charles, who the Daily Mail previously revealed was the subject of the frenzied cab attack in Rainham, Essex, two years ago, now faces trial and up to 15 years in a US prison if convicted.
Footage at the time showed Charles – himself armed with a knife – slashed in the face and arm by at least three knifemen, one of whom shattered a back seat car window with a hammer to reach him.
We can now reveal the Londoner, who boasted of his ‘fast-money’ lifestyle on his social media accounts under the name Mr.Swipedat, has spent months on remand in jail after he was charged with access device fraud on July 10.
He denied the charge during his arraignment at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Francisco, on July 28.
But at his last court date, on September 30, Charles refused to leave jail for proceedings and was ordered by a district judge to appear before him the following month.
Judge Peter Kang warned his defence counsel ‘any further antics would delay resolution of the case’.
Charles was allegedly involved in a scam involving the theft of a man’s iPhone outside a San Francisco nightclub, according to court documents obtained by the Mail.
Bilal Charles was slashed in the face and arm by at least three knifemen in Essex in 2024
Charles was caught on CCTV at a Walmart in San Leandro, California, carrying a phone with a blue case, matching the description of the victim’s stolen device
The Londoner has boasted of his ‘fast-money’ lifestyle on his social media accounts under the name Mr.Swipedat
It is alleged that the victim’s phone was used to attempt to withdraw more than $167,000 (£125,000) in Bitcoin and Ethereum from his crypto account.
US investigators say the victim also reported an unauthorised $4,000 (£3,000) bank transfer and thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases, including an Apple iPad, gift cards and shopping at retail store Target.
Charles is said to have approached the victim with another man at around 2.15am on June 28 and struck up a conversation, with one sharing his Instagram account.
Moments after they left, the alleged victim is said to have realised his unlocked iPhone had disappeared.
When he returned home and attempted to track it using Apple’s Find My service, he discovered it had already been removed from his account, documents say.
Within hours, someone had gained access to several of his financial accounts, it is alleged.
Investigators said attempts were made to withdraw the massive sum in crypto, while a new recipient was added to his Bank of America account before the smaller transfer was initiated.
The crypto withdrawals were eventually stopped because the victim’s account had a security feature requiring a 48-hour delay before funds could be released, it is said.
But the suspected fraudster was able to make a series of purchases using another payment account linked to the stolen phone.
These included £930 in department store gift cards, an electronics purchase worth more than $500 (£375) and a £500 Apple iPad.
Charles was traced by the US Secret Service, who linked the Instagram account shared with the victim, investigators said.
Records obtained from Instagram’s parent company Meta and an email provider linked the account to the alleged scam artist, who had also supplied a London home address to an airline.
Charles, who is keen to show off jewellery on social media, was alleged to have been involved in a scam involving the theft of a man’s iPhone outside a San Francisco nightclub
Charles showing off a large collection of £20 notes. He has spent months in jail after allegedly trying to steal £125,000 in cryptocurrency
Investigators then obtained CCTV from a Target store in San Leandro, California, which they said appeared to show Charles making purchases using a mobile phone.
He was seen carrying a phone with a blue case, matching the description of the victim’s stolen device.
He was also filmed wearing a grey Nike tracksuit, which investigators said matched clothing seen in a subsequent Instagram post.
Documents showed the defendant had arrived in California from Toronto eight days before the alleged theft.
The victim told investigators that one of the men he encountered outside the nightclub had a distinctive London accent.
During his September hearing, the US government provided additional evidence to the defence, adding that ‘discoveries were ongoing, including a copy of Charles’ iCloud account and any potential victim’s devices recovered during the search’.
An Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator told the court there was probable cause to believe Charles had committed access device fraud.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge at his arraignment on July 28.
It comes two years after Charles was heard pleading with a cab driver to speed off during an early morning attack, which left him bloodied and shaken.
Images on his TikTok account show him dripping in bling, including diamond-encrusted watches, chains and even Grillz teeth caps, as well as showing off designer brands like Louis Vuitton.
He was later seen galavanting at the British Silverstone Grand Prix, just over two weeks after the attack, and in Amsterdam where he posted images of cannabis.
Other images on his Instagram page show him posing with huge wads of money – including fanning himself with a fat bunch of £20 notes.
The terrifying attack on him was recorded by a rear-view dash camera from the cab he was travelling in. The driver appeared to be frozen in terror, before moving away as Charles wrestled with his attackers.
Charles posing with huge wads of money, has pleaded not guilty to charges he faces in the US
With blood pooling on his shirt, Charles inspected his injuries before noticing a Mercedes was pursuing him.
He pleaded with the driver ‘drive fast, drive fast, uncle’, before promising to pay him for the damage to his car.
Charles, who had a gash on his arm and over his right eye, phoned a friend to tell him he had been stabbed and then dialled 999 and told the operator: ‘I need police, I’m getting followed by a car. They’re following me, they tried to stab me.’
He eventually went to hospital after the incident with non-life-threatening injuries.
