Conspiracy theory:
No one would be dumb enough to include photos on the USB stick. Therefore we need a conspiracy.
We know that KnightMB acquired his 371k BTC by buying out partners in a BTC startup. He bought that 371k BTC for less than $5000.
The partners are likely pissed. They may have stolen the USB drive and staged the hoax in order to finger KnightMB.
hmm good call.
It doesn't make sense why someone with 3m+ USD worth of bitcoins would attempt to extort one of the world's most powerful people out of another million. While he is under secret service protection and intense media scrutiny, no less.
There is certainly a lot more than what is public to this story. Can't wait to watch it play out. All publicity is good publicity, so if this gets media attention it could be great for us.
Lottery winner syndrome. 80% of people receiving windfalls are likely to quickly squander them, and within a few years be right back where they started. Making money is half the battle, the other half is diversifying and protecting wealth, which requires intelligence and hard work. I'd bet KnightMB sold out his BTC during the price lows of 2011 and/or put a good chunk in Pirate's fund and other scams, thus explaining the desperation that must've driven him to attempt that insane extortion scam.
Or that.
It does seem very suspicious that the parents would say they don't recognize their friends' cats, but their daughter, presumably before the parents had the ability to coach her, identified them. Although at the same time, if they are innocent, they are freaking out, and could be excused for not picking a cat out of a lineup from a black and white photo.
This is a government investigation, so we have to assume everything that becomes public is not true.