Two Texas brothers have pleaded guilty to robbing a Minnesota family of more than $8 million in cryptocurrency, after holding them at gunpoint in their own home for hours.
The brothers traveled from Texas to Minnesota specifically to carry out the scheme, prosecutors said. On the morning of September 19, 2025, they kidnapped a man and his family at gunpoint inside their home in Grant, a small city outside Minneapolis, demanded access to his cryptocurrency accounts, zip-tied the family, and held them for more than eight hours.
At one point, Isiah Garcia forced the man to travel to the family's cabin in northern Minnesota to retrieve additional crypto storage devices and move the funds, according to court documents. In all, the brothers forced him to transfer more than $8 million.
The family's son managed to call 911, and the brothers fled. Investigators used items they left behind at the home to identify them, then tracked them to the Houston area, where they were arrested. Both admitted using firearms to threaten the family.
"No one should ever feel unsafe in their own home," FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson said, pledging that such "violence and greed" would be aggressively investigated. U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the pleas reflected a commitment to holding the brothers "accountable for the choices they made."
Each faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, and the two agreed to pay more than $8 million in restitution. Sentencing dates have not been set.
The case is among a fast-growing wave of so-called "wrench attacks," in which crypto holders are coerced into handing over their assets using physical force or the threat of violence. Such attacks have multiplied worldwide.
