$8M Crypto Kidnapping Rocks Minnesota as Suspects Face Charges

Two armed brothers stormed a family’s home, holding them hostage for nine hours and eventually embezzling $8 million worth of crypto from one of the victims.

In the following lines, we break down the chilling details of the crime and examine whether this story had anything resembling a happy ending.

The Bone-Chilling Thriller

Grant – a small town in the state of Minnesota – recently became the scene of a brutal crypto-related crime. On September 19, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a 911 call from a man reporting that he and his family had been held at gunpoint during a violent home invasion by two armed suspects. The individuals in question were the brothers Raymond Christian Garcia and Isiah Angelo Garcia.

Earlier that day, the father of the man who called 911 was taking out a garbage can to the street when the alleged criminals suddenly attacked him with an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun. The brothers took the victim into the garage, where they bound his hands and brought him into the house. They later woke up his wife and adult son at gunpoint and also zipped their hands, forcing them to lie on the floor.

Raymond Garcia supposedly held the wife and son in their residence for nine hours, while his brother forced the father (Victim 1) to log into his cryptocurrency accounts. He demanded that the victim transfer huge amounts of digital assets into a designated wallet provided by the attackers.

“During the robbery, Victim 1 saw both Garcia brothers frequently making phone calls to an unknown third party, who appeared to be providing the information related to the cryptocurrency accounts and transfers,” the official announcement reads.

Through this third party, the brother became aware that the father had additional crypto funds and demanded access to them. The victim explained that the assets were stored on a hard drive at a family cabin, approximately three hours away.

Isiah Garcia forced the man into his truck and drove to the location where the remaining funds were transferred. In total, the victim sent $8 million worth of digital assets to the attackers’ wallets.

The son of Victim 1, who was held at gunpoint while Isiah Garcia was gone, used a brief opportunity to call 911. The police officers were quick to react, and when they arrived, they found Raymond Garcia running out through the back door.

For his part, Isiah Garcia (who was returning to the house with the truck) saw the chaos, ditched the vehicle and his weapon, and walked towards a nearby middle school parking lot. To protect the safety of the pupils, Mahtomedi Public Schools was forced to cancel its homecoming football game.

In the next few days, the law enforcement officers checked video surveillance cameras and tracked the brothers’ previous locations, and managed to arrest them on September 22 in Texas.

What Now?

The incident was described by Acting US Attorney Joseph H. Thompson as “a blow to the sense of safety in everyone in Minnesota.”

“This is not normal. Minnesotans should not accept wild violence and thievery as normal. Every Minnesotan deserves to live in peace and a life unaffected by rampant crime,” he added.

On September 23, the Garcia brothers were charged by complaint in Washington County, Minnesota, with three counts of kidnapping with a firearm, one count of first-degree aggravated robbery, and three counts of first-degree burglary. The following day, they were both charged in a federal complaint with kidnapping.

The attackers were scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court on September 25, at which time the government will request their detention pending trial.

“As alleged in the complaint, the Garcia brothers terrorized a Minnesota family in their own home, kidnapping one family member while holding the rest of the family hostage in order to conduct a brazen cryptocurrency theft.

This office, together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in Minnesota and in Texas, will work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for this horrific crime,” FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr assured.

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