Prosecutors Announce Federal Charges in $8M Crypto Kidnapping

Sep 25

Federal prosecutors say two brothers from Texas have been charged in Minnesota after they held a family at gunpoint for nine hours, forcing them to transfer $8 million in cryptocurrency before fleeing the state.

The incident also forced Mahtomedi Public Schools to cancel its homecoming football game for community safety.

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According to a criminal complaint, Raymond Christian Garcia, 23, and his brother, Isiah Angelo Garcia, 24, carried out the armed kidnapping on Sept. 19 at a home in Grant. Investigators say the brothers confronted the homeowner’s father outside with an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun, restrained him with zip ties and brought him into the house. The family’s mother and adult son were then woken up at gunpoint, zip-tied and forced onto the floor.

While Raymond Garcia guarded the mother and son, Isiah Garcia allegedly forced the father to access his cryptocurrency accounts and transfer millions into a digital wallet provided by the brothers. The complaint states that the brothers were in contact with a third party over the phone throughout the ordeal, receiving instructions on how to complete the transactions.

When the suspects learned that more funds were stored on a hard drive at the family’s cabin, Isiah Garcia allegedly drove the father three hours away at gunpoint to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Raymond Garcia continued to hold the mother and son hostage inside the home with the rifle. After accessing the additional funds, Isiah Garcia returned with the victim toward the Grant residence.

Around that time, the son used an opportunity when Raymond briefly left the house to call 911. Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrived and found the mother and son zip-tied. They also saw Raymond running from the back of the home. A search of the nearby tree line turned up a suitcase containing a disassembled AR-15, ammunition, clothing and other items.

Responding squads unknowingly passed Isiah Garcia and the father on the road as they returned from the cabin. Investigators say Isiah then abandoned the truck near a middle school, ditched the shotgun in a nearby field and walked toward a school parking lot. The heavy police response forced Mahtomedi to cancel its scheduled homecoming football game that night.

Evidence collected at the scene, including a Wendy’s receipt, led investigators to connect the brothers to a rental car in Texas and a motel in Roseville. Surveillance cameras tracked the white Chevrolet Malibu back south, where law enforcement later located it in Oklahoma and then Texas. On Sept. 22, authorities arrested both brothers at their home in Waller, Tex.

PREVIOUSLY: 2 Charged After Family Targeted in Kidnapping, Crypto Robbery

Court filings state that Isiah Garcia confessed after being taken into custody, admitting that he and his brother carried out the armed kidnapping and theft. Both men were first charged in Washington County with kidnapping, aggravated robbery and burglary.

The following day, federal prosecutors charged them with kidnapping and they were expected to make their first federal court appearance Thursday, where prosecutors will ask a judge to keep the brothers in custody throughout the case.

“A violent kidnapping that stole $8 million and silenced a homecoming game is not just a crime,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement. ”It is a blow to the sense of safety of everyone in Minnesota.”

FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin Winston added that the brothers “terrorized a Minnesota family in their own home” and pledged continued work with state and local partners to hold them accountable.

Both suspects remain in custody as the federal case proceeds.

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