Mahtomedi Homecoming Canceled After $8M Armed Crypto Kidnapping Nearby: Feds

MAHTOMEDI, MN — A violent cryptocurrency heist in Washington County forced Mahtomedi schools to cancel their homecoming football game, according to federal prosecutors.

In a criminal complaint filed this week, prosecutors said Raymond Christian Garcia, 23, and Isiah Angelo Garcia, 24, traveled from Texas to Minnesota and carried out an armed kidnapping on Sept. 19, holding a Grant family at gunpoint and stealing $8 million in cryptocurrency.

According to the complaint, the father of the family was ambushed outside his home that morning while taking out the trash. Prosecutors claim the brothers pointed an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun at him, zip-tied his hands, and dragged him inside. They then woke his wife and adult son at gunpoint, bound their hands, and forced them to lie on the floor.

Prosecutors say Raymond Garcia held the wife and son captive for nine hours with the rifle, while his brother forced the father to log into cryptocurrency accounts and transfer millions.

The brothers were also making frequent calls to a third accomplice, who appeared to be feeding them information about accounts and transfers, according to the complaint.

After learning more funds were stored on a hard-drive wallet at the family’s cabin, prosecutors say Isiah Garcia drove the father there at gunpoint, while Raymond stayed behind with the other hostages. Additional funds were transferred to the Garcias’ crypto wallet, according to law enforcement.

The son eventually called 911 when Raymond briefly stepped outside, prosecutors claim.

Washington County deputies responded, finding the mother and son zip-tied inside as one suspect ran out the back door. In nearby woods, investigators later recovered a suitcase containing a disassembled AR-15 rifle, ammunition, clothing, drinks, and a Wendy’s receipt, according to the sheriff’s office.

Law enforcement also said Isiah abandoned the shotgun in a field near a middle school. With the manhunt expanding, Mahtomedi Public Schools canceled its homecoming football game that night for safety reasons.

“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,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement.

According to prosecutors, the Garcia brothers fled back to Texas after the crime. Investigators linked them to a Motel 6 in Roseville and tracked their rental car south. They were arrested Sept. 22 in Waller, Texas. Prosecutors say Isiah later confessed to the crime.

The brothers were charged in Washington County on Sept. 23 with kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and burglary. Federal prosecutors filed kidnapping charges the next day.

The FBI and Washington County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation.