Federal prosecutors say three men from Tennessee carried out a violent cross-country scheme targeting cryptocurrency owners in California through fake deliveries, home invasions and armed assaults.
According to a federal indictment, Elijah Armstrong, Nino Chindavanh and Jayden Rucker allegedly used fake pizza, UPS and DoorDash deliveries to determine whether victims were home before forcing entry.
CASE UPDATE from @FBIWFO: California Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Role in $263 Million Cryptocurrency Scam
— FBI (@FBI) May 13, 2026
A multi-year federal investigation uncovered a social engineering enterprise that defrauded victims of more than $250 million in cryptocurrency. Members of the… pic.twitter.com/R4ThEVi0vK
Prosecutors said the suspects pistol-whipped victims, tied them up and demanded access to cryptocurrency accounts. In one San Francisco attack, investigators said a tech investor was bound with duct tape and robbed of nearly $6.5 million in crypto assets.
The report said similar attempted robberies later occurred in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Los Angeles. Federal authorities described the operation as “brazen, violent and dangerous.”
Experts told CNN that so-called “wrench attacks” targeting crypto holders are rising globally because digital assets can be difficult to trace and may involve far larger sums than traditional cash robberies.
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