...seized during his trip out West not by thieves but by at the Drug Enforcement Administration...
Fixed. His attorney describes the situation more accurately than the author:
What this is, is having your money stolen by a federal agent acting under the color of law, said Michael Pancer, a San Diego attorney who represents Rivers, an aspiring music video producer. Its a national epidemic. If my office got four to five cases just recently, and Im just one attorney, you know this is happening thousands of times.
Fortunately, this will soon be a thing of the past for Bitcoin users as wallet technology improves.