Man accused of stealing $18M in XRP from George Jones’ widow

Kirk West, a 58-year-old Franklin man, has been arrested for allegedly stealing millions in cryptocurrency and cash from his longtime partner, Nancy Jones — the widow of country music legend George Jones.

According to WKRN, Jones reported the theft on July 23, claiming West took $400,000 in cash and a Ledger crypto wallet containing over 5.5 million XRP tokens from two safes in her home. At the time of the theft, the XRP was valued at roughly $11.6 million. As of July 28, its value had surged to $18 million.

West was the only person besides Nancy Jones who had the private key, the affidavit notes as reported by WKRN, referring to the PIN-like access code needed to control the wallet.

While Nancy was eventually able to recover around 5 million XRP, she still lost 483,205 XRP, currently worth nearly $1.5 million.

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Police said West was arrested at Nashville International Airport on July 24 — less than 24 hours after the investigation began — and charged with theft over $250,000. His bond was set at $1 million, and he’s scheduled to appear in court on October 23.

The restraining order filed by Nancy Jones details a disturbing timeline. She met West in 2013 shortly after her husband’s death when he claimed to be a homebuyer. Over time, they entered a relationship, and West — reportedly penniless — moved into her home. Court documents say Jones funded everything from their living expenses to a Mercedes-Benz for West.

West’s legal history also raises red flags. In 2016, he pled guilty to bank fraud after forging documents and defrauding Reliant Bank. Jones paid his legal fees and even his restitution obligations — which he allegedly promised to repay but never did.

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“[West] agreed to pay $935,045.04 in restitution… but has yet to do so,” the filing states.

During his house arrest, also served at Nancy’s home, West became a self-proclaimed crypto expert, persuading her to invest in coins like XRP, DOGE, SHIB, ETH, and XLM.

The court documents allege West used her trust and financial backing to orchestrate the XRP theft.

Nancy Jones, married to George Jones from 1983 until his passing in 2013, is now seeking legal recourse for what she calls a deep personal and financial betrayal.