Texas brothers plead guilty in $8M Washington County crypto heist, kidnapping case – Twin Cities
A pair of Texas brothers who held a Grant man, his wife and adult son hostage and stole $8 million in cryptocurrency from them have pleaded guilty to federal charges and face up to 20 years in prison, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
Isiah Angelo Garcia, 25, and Raymond Christian Garcia, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count each of Interference with Commerce by Robbery in U.S. District Court, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced.
As part of their guilty pleas, the brothers agreed to pay more than $8 million in restitution and each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The brothers, both of Waller, Texas, traveled from Texas to Minnesota in September where they kidnapped a Grant man and his family at gunpoint in their home, according to court documents. They then demanded access to the man’s cryptocurrency accounts and held the family at gunpoint for more than eight hours.
The heist is believed to be the largest financial crime ever committed in Washington County and caused a “shelter in place” in the area. Mahtomedi High School’s homecoming football game, which would have taken place only about a mile from the home, was canceled.
Armed kidnapping
The couple’s son called 911 around 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 19 and whispered into the phone that he and his parents had been kidnapped and were being held hostage at gunpoint in their home, according to the criminal complaint.
The Grant man, while taking out his garbage, had been confronted by the Garcias around 7:45 a.m. when they “ran out from alongside the house’s driveway, pointing an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun at him,” according to the federal complaint. The brothers then escorted the man into the garage, bound his hands with zip ties and brought him inside the house.
The brothers woke up the man’s wife and their son at gunpoint, bound them with zip ties and forced them to lie on the floor of the home, according to the complaint.
While Raymond Garcia, armed with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, held the wife and son in the home for the next nine hours, Isiah Garcia forced the man, at gunpoint, to log into his cryptocurrency accounts, the complaint states.
Through phone calls with an unknown third party, the Garcias learned the man had additional cryptocurrency funds he had not yet provided. Isiah Garcia then forced the man to drive to the family’s cabin three hours away in Jacobson, Minn., where the man said the cryptocurrency wallet was located.
Isiah Garcia forced the man to transfer a total $8 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to the complaint.
As the man and Isiah Garcia returned to the family’s home, the son was able to call 911.
Deputies spotted Raymond Garcia running out the back door of the home. Using surveillance video and evidence found in the area, investigators were able to track a car rented by Isiah Garcia to the brothers’ home in Waller, Texas. The men were then arrested several days after the kidnapping.
Sentencing
Full recoveries of stolen cryptocurrencies are extremely rare, Paul Sibenik, CEO of CryptoForensic Investigators, told the Pioneer Press in September, and crypto-related kidnappings are becoming more common.
Sentencing for the brothers will be scheduled at a later date.
Cryptocurrency is a form of digital money and customers can use their phone, computer or a cryptocurrency ATM to buy cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ether.
Because a bank or other centralized authority doesn’t exist to flag suspicious transactions, crypto transfers can’t be reversed, which can make cryptocurrency crimes attractive to thieves, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
“This crime struck close to home for many people in our area. It shook not only the victims involved, but it disrupted lives, created fear, and left residents wondering how something so violent could happen here,” said Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry in a statement Thursday. “I’m proud of the work done by our investigators, deputies, law enforcement partners, and prosecutors who helped move this case forward. Today’s proceedings mark an important step toward accountability and justice for our community.”
The cases are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Kline is prosecuting the case.
“No one should ever feel unsafe in their own home,” said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson in a statement. “The kinds of violence and greed displayed by Raymond and Isiah Garcia will always be aggressively investigated by the FBI and our law enforcement partners. Thanks to the seamless partnership between the FBI, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and state and local law enforcement agencies from here to Texas, these defendants will now face sentencing in federal court. Home invasions, kidnapping, and robberies carry lasting impacts on victims and our communities. We hope this conviction will bring some measure of peace to the victims of this horrendous crime.”
