Texas brothers admit $8M crypto heist after family kidnapping

Two Texas brothers have pleaded guilty to federal charges for kidnapping a Minnesota family and stealing more than $8 million in cryptocurrency, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota said Thursday.

Isiah Angelo Garcia and Raymond Christian Garcia entered the pleas to Interference with Commerce by Robbery, a charge carrying up to 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the pleas hold the defendants accountable for what he called an armed robbery.

Court filings cited by prosecutors state the brothers traveled from Texas to Minnesota on Sept. 19, 2025. The victim, his wife, and their son were confronted at gunpoint. The wife and son were held for about nine hours at the family home while the victim was taken to a cabin three hours away, where he was forced to transfer roughly $8 million in cryptocurrency from online accounts and hardware wallets, prosecutors said.

The kidnapping unraveled after the victim's son managed to call emergency services. Washington County sheriff's deputies recovered a rifle and a shotgun. Surveillance footage and other evidence linked the brothers to the crime, according to prosecutors. Both men admitted in their plea agreements that firearms were used to threaten the victims. They also agreed to pay more than $8 million in restitution. Sentencing dates have not been set.