A California man pretended to be a bitcoin billionaire and racked up nearly $212,000 in resort, bar and car dealership bills in Wyomingâs richest county last year, court documents allege.
Kevin Michael Segal, 30, asked Teton County Judge Melissa Owens earlier this month to give him a lower bond so he could get out of jail and rescue his family and property from the Los Angeles wildfires. He also said he has ample resources to hire his own attorney instead of using the Teton County public defender and would like the chance to access those.Â
The case prosecutor, Teton County Deputy Attorney Andrew Hardenbrook, countered, saying Segal should stay in jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond because he has no ties to the area and is charged with more than a dozen felonies.
The judgeâs ruling on that matter had not appeared in the file as of Wednesday.
Segal pleaded not guilty this month to 14 felonies and three misdemeanors. If convicted and sentenced consecutively on all 17 charges, he could face up to 141.5 years in prison and several thousand dollars in fines.
Because Of The Brand-New Truck
The Teton County Sheriffâs Office started investigating Segal in March of 2024 because of a report from the Rocky Mountain Yeti car dealership in Jackson, Wyoming, that Segal had agreed to wire $159,427 for a 2024 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup, but the wire didnât go through.
A staffer of the dealership tried following up with Segal, who then cut a check to the dealership, says an affidavit Teton County Sheriffâs Detective Adam Rainey compiled for the case.
The check didnât clear either, the document says.
Teton County Sheriffâs Sgt. Jesse Willcox tried tracking Segal down. Heâd been staying at the Caldera House but had checked out March 21 â six days after he took possession of the pickup, the affidavit says. Another part of the document claims Segal âsnuck out the backâ without paying.
The affidavit says that when Willcox called Caldera House, he learned that not only had Segal checked out, but heâd left without paying his outstanding guest bill and bar tab totaling $14,870.30.
Willcox had had a âlaw enforcement related contactâ with Segal prior at a rental property on the Spring Creek Ranch earlier that month, so he reached out to Spring Creek management to find the man â only to find that Segal was no longer a guest there either, the affidavit says.
A warrant was issued for the manâs arrest March 28.
Bar Tabs And Resort Stays
Rainey took over the case since there were questions of other, âfraudulent actsâ that surfaced during Willcoxâs search for Segal, the detective wrote.
âAs I investigated the case I discovered that Segal had committed several felony fraudulent activities and had falsely represented himself as a Bitcoin billionaire in order to help carry out his scheme of deception,â Rainey added.
The alleged billionaire persona deceived upscale businesses and smaller courier operations alike, the document claims.
From Jan. 31-Feb. 2 Segal stayed at the Amangani resort with his mother and a friend, racking up a $2,725.76 bill that went unpaid when the credit card he placed was found to be fraudulent, Rainey wrote.
At Spring Creek Ranch, three cards meant to pay bills of $16,509.60 and $5,728.80 also turned up fraudulent, says the document.
Segal kept a tab at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village and racked up a $3,055.28 bill that went unpaid, Rainey added.
Drones And Deliveries
The document says Segal had a man pick up a DJI drone for him. The man was to buy the drone in Colorado, and Segal would reimburse him for that, it adds.
Segal cut the man a check for the drone, of $3,281.46, and that failed to clear, Rainey wrote.
On March 27, about 12 days after Segal took possession of the Dodge truck, authorities used the truckâs GPS system to track him down â to his home in Redondo Beach, California, the document says.
The Redondo Beach Police Department took possession of the truck. Later they arrested him.
The Rocky Mountain Yeti dealership told investigators it took a $27,100 loss on the truck, including its off-lot depreciation and the costs of recovering it.
The Delivery Man
The document says Segal sent a delivery man to drive the Dodge Ram to Los Angeles. The delivery man and his son drove the pickup from Jackson to Los Angeles ânonstop,â then went to the airport to take their return flight to Jackson â since Segal had promised them heâd buy their homebound tickets, says the affidavit.
The men learned at the airport that Segal hadnât bought them any plane tickets. They checked into a hotel room amid Segalâs recurring promises heâd take care of the issue, the affidavit says.
When Segal didnât take care of the issue, the deliver men bought plane tickets home out of his own pocket, Rainey wrote.
The man sent Segal a bill for $3,101 for the drive, fuel, airline tickets, hotel and other trip expenses. On March 27, Segal sent the man a screenshot of a wire transfer, but no wire transfer ever went through, the document says.
The Grocery Gal
A woman who delivers groceries for people in Teton County said Segal also used her services, but his credit card charges were cancelled. That total was $441.25, the document says.
The affidavitâs tally for all the charges that Segal is accused of not paying at various Teton County businesses is as follows:
⢠Amangani $2,725.76
⢠Spring creek ranch $24,905.28
⢠Grocery service $441.25
⢠Mangy Moose $3,3055.28
⢠Rocky Mountain Yeti Auto $159,427.04
⢠Drone Delivery Man $3,281.46
⢠Wyoming Department of Transportation $45
⢠Caldera House $14,870.3
⢠Pickup Delivery Man $3,101
⢠These figures total $211,852.37.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
