A U.S. federal grand jury has indicted three Tennessee men for their alleged involvement in a series of violent home invasions targeting cryptocurrency holders across California, resulting in the theft of over $6.5 million in digital assets. The defendants — Elijah Armstrong, 21, Nino Chindavanh, 21, and Jayden Rucker, 25 — were arrested in December and are currently in federal custody awaiting trial.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the indictment was filed on March 31 and unsealed following the arrests. Prosecutors allege the men posed as delivery workers to gain entry into victims' homes in San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Los Angeles between November 22 and December 31 of last year. Once inside, they allegedly used firearms, duct tape, and zip ties to restrain victims and demand access to cryptocurrency accounts and seed phrases — the cryptographic keys that provide wallet access.
In one case, a victim was forced at gunpoint to sign into their crypto accounts, after which a co-conspirator transferred approximately $6.5 million in digital assets to a wallet controlled by the group. "These individuals, as alleged, terrorized their victims in the hopes of stealing vast sums of cryptocurrency," said U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian, describing the scheme as "brazen, violent, and dangerous." FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo confirmed the bureau would work with local partners to pursue those targeting victims for digital assets.
The case highlights a growing global trend of "wrench attacks" — physical coercion involving violence or threats to force victims to reveal private keys or transfer assets. Unlike digital hacks, these crimes involve direct physical confrontation. French authorities recently charged 88 individuals in similar cases, with recorded incidents rising from 18 in 2024 to 67 in 2025, and 47 so far in 2026. The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempted robbery, and attempted kidnapping.
Armstrong and Rucker were scheduled to appear on May 12 for appointment of counsel, while Chindavanh is set for a June 26 status hearing. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted, they face significant prison terms and fines. Experts recommend crypto holders store seed phrases in secure offline locations, use multi-signature and hardware wallets, and maintain robust physical security measures to mitigate such risks.
