Brothers sentenced for $8M cryptocurrency kidnapping of Minnesota family

(FOX 9) - Two Texas brothers have each been sentenced to at least 15 years for kidnapping a Minnesota family at gunpoint and forcing the transfer of more than $8 million in cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency kidnapping sentencing

Brothers sentenced:

Raymond Christian Garcia and Isiah Angelo Garcia, both of Waller, Texas, were sentenced Thursday for their roles in the armed robbery and kidnapping of a family in Grant, Minnesota in September 2025. 

A federal judge sentenced Raymond Garcia to 15 years in prison, while Isiah Garcia received 15.5 years in prison. 

Both brothers entered a guilty plea in June to one count of interference with commerce by robbery. 

What they're saying:

"Raymond and Isiah Garcia violated the sanctity of a home, abducted a victim, terrorized a family at gunpoint for hours, and disrupted an entire community in a brazen act of violence and greed," FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said in a statement. "The defendants’ acts were targeted, deliberate, and extremely violent. Crimes like this have real and lasting impacts on victims and entire communities… I hope that today’s sentence is an important step toward healing for the victims as they recover from these events."

Minnesota family held at gunpoint for hours

The backstory:

According to court documents, the brothers traveled from Texas to Minnesota before kidnapping a man and his family inside their Grant home on Sept. 19, 2025.

Authorities said the brothers tied up the family with zip ties and held them at gunpoint for more than nine hours while demanding access to the cryptocurrency accounts. 

When the victim did not transfer the amount of cryptocurrency expected, he was forced to drive Isiah Garcia to the family's cabin in northern Minnesota three hours away.  

At the cabin, authorities say Isiah Garcia forced the victim to find the additional cryptocurrency storage devices and transfer the funds. 

Ultimately, the victim was forced to transfer more than $8 million in cryptocurrency. 

According to the court records, the man believed some of his crypto account information had been leaked during a data breach.

The Source: This story uses previous FOX 9 reporting, information from court documents, and U.S. Department of Justice press release.