Raymond Christian Garcia, 23, and Isiah Angelo Garcia, 24, have been charged with federal kidnapping after allegedly holding a Minnesota family at gunpoint for nine hours and stealing $8 million in cryptocurrency. The incident led Mahtomedi Public Schools to cancel its homecoming football game due to safety concerns.
“A violent kidnapping that stole $8 million and silenced a homecoming game is not just a crime. It is a blow to the sense of safety of everyone in Minnesota,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “This is not normal. Minnesotans should not accept wild violence and thievery as normal. Every Minnesotan deserves to live in peace and a life unaffected by rampant crime.”
According to authorities, on September 19, 2025, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from an adult male reporting that he and his family had been held hostage at their residence in Grant, Minnesota. The suspects were identified as the Garcia brothers.
The incident began when Victim 1 was confronted outside his home by the two men armed with an AR-15-style rifle and shotgun. They bound him with zip ties before bringing him inside where they also restrained his wife and adult son.
Raymond Garcia reportedly guarded the wife and son for nine hours while Isiah Garcia forced Victim 1 at gunpoint to transfer large sums of cryptocurrency into wallets provided by the suspects. During this time, both brothers made frequent phone calls to an unidentified third party who appeared to provide information about the victim’s accounts.
After learning that additional funds were stored on a hard drive at a family cabin three hours away, Isiah Garcia drove Victim 1 there under threat while Raymond Garcia continued holding the other family members hostage. At the cabin, more funds were transferred before returning toward the victim’s home.
In total, approximately $8 million worth of cryptocurrency was taken from Victim 1’s accounts.
While returning from the cabin, Victim 1’s son managed to call police during a brief absence by Raymond Garcia from the house. Responding deputies found two victims still restrained inside; they observed Raymond Garcia fleeing out the back door as they arrived. A suitcase containing parts of an AR-15-style rifle and other items was recovered nearby.
Law enforcement traced evidence including receipts and surveillance footage linking both brothers to rental vehicles and motel stays in Minnesota prior to fleeing south after the crime. Authorities later tracked them back to their residence in Waller, Texas.
On September 22, law enforcement arrested both men in Texas; Isiah Garcia confessed involvement upon arrest.
Both men face state charges including multiple counts of kidnapping with a firearm as well as federal kidnapping charges filed on September 24. They are scheduled for initial appearances in federal court where prosecutors will seek detention pending trial.
“As alleged in the complaint, the Garcia brothers terrorized a Minnesota family in their own home, kidnapping one family member while holding the rest of the family hostage in order to conduct a brazen cryptocurrency theft,” said FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr. “This office, together with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in Minnesota and in Texas, will work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for this horrific crime.”
The investigation involved cooperation between local sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents across multiple states.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca E. Kline is prosecuting this case.
A criminal complaint is only an allegation; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
