The story sounds quite difficult to believe for me, and I learned a long time ago that you shouldnt believe everything you read in a forum. However, that there are some possibilities that that could have happened, whether to your friend or someone else.
What I dont get is: did your friend go to the bar with the seeds written on a piece of paper? Always keep your money away from strangers. The fewer people know that you have money, the better, even acquittances.
Would your friend also give a stranger his fiat wallet with $10000 in it and then wonder if he will get it back?
Yes, I was thinking something like that. Not the fiat wallet but the password and the coordinates card or other security feature.