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Tennessee Trio Face Federal Charges in California Crypto Robbery Spree, Prosecutors Say
Prosecutors say the men forced victims to open crypto accounts at gunpoint and moved about $6.5 million into wallets they controlled.
On Monday, a federal grand jury indicted Elijah Armstrong, Nino Chindavanh, and Jayden Rucker on kidnapping and robbery charges after they traveled from Tennessee to California to target cryptocurrency owners.
Posing as delivery workers, the trio allegedly accessed homes across San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Los Angeles, using guns, duct tape, and zip ties to restrain victims during a violent robbery spree.
In one instance, the defendants forced a victim at gunpoint to sign into his cryptocurrency accounts, enabling the transfer of roughly $6.5 million to a wallet controlled by the co-conspirators.
Describing the scheme as 'sophisticated' and 'brazen, violent, and dangerous,' U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said, 'These individuals, as alleged, terrorized their victims in the hopes of stealing vast sums of cryptocurrency.'
All three remain in federal custody following their December arrests; if convicted, they face up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.