A Franklin man was arrested at Nashville International Airport after police said he stole hundreds of thousands in cash and millions in cryptocurrency from his ex-girlfriend, the widow of country music legend George Jones.
Kirk West, 58, of Franklin, is charged with Theft Over $250,000. His bond is set at $1 million.
Franklin police officers apprehended West on Thursday at the airport less than 24 hours after starting their investigation.
According to an affidavit, Nancy Jones filed a theft report on Wednesday, saying West stole approximately $400,000 in cash and a Ledger cryptocurrency wallet from two safes inside her Franklin home around June 26.
The wallet contained approximately 5,534,307 units of the digital currency XRP, valued at approximately $2.10 per token at the time of the theft, totaling over $11.6 million. The value has since increased to more than $17 million.
Jones called her granddaughter on June 26 and asked her to secure jewelry and cash from the safe after she suspected West, her "long-time romantic partner," was cheating on her, the court document states.
The granddaughter discovered the cash and cryptocurrency wallet were missing from the safe.
Police said West was the only person besides Jones who had the private key to access the wallet. With the help of attorneys, Jones recovered approximately 5,051,102 XRP but still lost out on 483,205 XRP, worth nearly $1.5 million.
According to the court document, Jones kicked West out of the home on June 28. West allegedly called Jones and told her he would send $5 million of the crypto funds back to her bank account, saying that was all she would get.
Nancy is credited with helping George Jones overcome addiction and rebuild his career during their three decades together until his death in 2013.
West reportedly helped open the George Jones Museum on Second Avenue in 2015 before it was sold along with George Jones' name, image and likeness to a Nashville-based investment group.
West is scheduled to appear in court on October 23.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at holly.lehren@newschannel5.com.
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