Two Texas brothers have received a combined 326 months in prison for a violent Minnesota home invasion that forced a family to surrender more than $8 million in cryptocurrency.
Prison terms follow guilty pleas
Raymond Christian Garcia and Isiah Angelo Garcia, both from Waller, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank in St. Paul. Raymond Garcia received 180 months, or 15 years, while Isiah Garcia was sentenced to 186 months, or 15 and a half years. Both brothers pleaded guilty in June, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and reporting by Decrypt.
The sentences relate to a robbery on Sept. 19, 2025, in Grant, Minnesota. Prosecutors said the brothers traveled from Texas, entered the victim’s home and restrained the family with zip ties. The relatives were held at gunpoint for more than nine hours as the attackers demanded access to the father’s cryptocurrency accounts.
Family forced to retrieve hardware wallets
The criminals did not obtain the amount they initially expected through the victim’s account transfers. Court documents say they then forced the father to drive one of the brothers to the family’s cabin in upstate Minnesota. The purpose was to locate additional hardware wallets—physical devices used to store or access cryptocurrency—and use them to move more funds.
The victim was ultimately compelled to transfer more than $8 million in crypto. The brothers left after the victim’s son called 911 and were later arrested near Houston.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen described the crime as a “brazen and calculated act of violence” against the victim and his family. Christopher Dotson of the FBI said the defendants had violated the security of the family’s home in what he called an act of violence and greed.
A physical threat to crypto holders
The case illustrates what is commonly called a “wrench attack.” Unlike a conventional cyberattack, this type of crime relies on threats or physical force to make a cryptocurrency holder surrender credentials, devices or funds.
The sentences arrive as reported violence targeting crypto owners has increased alongside higher cryptocurrency prices. Chainalysis recorded 46 violent incidents involving crypto holders during the first half of 2026, with more than $30 million stolen. The source material also noted that CertiK estimated losses at an even higher level, without providing a figure.
Other reported incidents have included a kidnapping in France involving workers’ children and a home invasion in the United Kingdom that resulted in prison terms. The Garcia case adds a U.S. conviction involving a large crypto seizure and signals the seriousness with which federal courts are treating violence linked to digital assets.
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