Turkish intelligence and police arrest Interpol-wanted crypto fraudster Richard Heart in Istanbul

In a coordinated operation in Istanbul, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization and police intelligence and anti-financial-crime units arrested Richard James Schueler, also called Richard Heart, and his wife A.K. after monitoring his apartment in the Beşiktaş district. The raid yielded a dozen mobile phones, several laptops, graphic-card rigs, two drones, rifles, pistols, gold bracelets and a large stash of cash in various currencies.

Schueler is subject to an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland for alleged high-value cryptocurrency fraud. In 2024 Interpol listed him for tax fraud and assault, and the U.S. SEC previously charged him and his entities Hex, PulseChain and PulseX with unregistered crypto-asset securities offerings that attracted more than $1 billion and with diverting at least $12 million to luxury purchases, including a 555-carat black diamond. The capture underscores Turkish cooperation in trans-national financial crime investigations.