Luxury cars become prey, family members used as bargaining chips: Crypto "wrench attacks" have swept across Europe and America

Written by: Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Translated by: Saoirse, Foresight News

Key Highlights

A man from Missouri pleaded guilty in Hartford Federal Court to involvement in a conspiracy to commit robbery, involving an attempted Bitcoin theft, and a double kidnapping in Danbury, Connecticut.

Prosecutors state that this case confirms: holding crypto assets can make the family members and vehicles of the holder targets of coercion and threats.

Saif Faiq will face sentencing on August 28; this "wrench attack" crime pattern continues to spread from Europe, repeatedly entering courts across the United States.

A 22-year-old man from St. Louis, Missouri, Saif Faiq, pleaded guilty on June 8 in Hartford Federal Court to conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery. Prosecutors say this case originated from a conspiracy in August 2024: a group planned to steal Bitcoin from a household, which was also involved in another theft of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin.

The maximum statutory sentence for this crime is 20 years in prison, with Faiq’s sentencing hearing scheduled for August 28.

Prosecutors explained that the two kidnapped victims are the parents of a Bitcoin involved party. Saif Faiq was responsible for recruiting accomplices, coordinating with Adam Iza, and monitoring the victims’ home throughout the operation.

This Danbury case is just another example of how the increasing violence and threats related to crypto wealth are escalating. The prosecution links key elements of this guilty plea: targeting relatives, long-term surveillance, luxury vehicles, and the criminal gang’s logic of kidnapping to coerce others into surrendering Bitcoin.

CryptoSlate previously reported that incidents of identity leaks of crypto holders within France, with criminals targeting their families for violence, have surged; and court documents from the Danbury case prove that similar security threats are now surfacing within the U.S. federal judicial system.

U.S. Court Documents: Real Cases of Physical Violence Triggered by Crypto Assets

In September 2024, Danbury police responded to a report of a Lamborghini Urus carjacking and kidnapping. Prosecutors immediately charged six Florida residents. Official reports show that two victims were forcibly removed from their vehicle, bound, and placed into a van, but police intercepted and arrested the suspects in time.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced in June 2026 that six other individuals involved in the carjacking and kidnapping had pleaded guilty.

Not only did Saif Faiq enter the guilty plea process. The Department of Justice identified his brother, Adam Iza, as one of the core organizers of the case. Adam Iza pleaded guilty on June 1 to conspiracy to commit robbery under the Hobbs Act, which also relates to the Bitcoin theft and Danbury kidnapping.

Prosecutors state that Adam Iza used mobile phones and encrypted communication apps to contact multiple kidnappers, coordinate logistics, and provide financial support for the crime.

This federal criminal case involves multiple typical violent crime charges: recruiting accomplices, providing funds, surveillance, carjacking, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit robbery. The link to cryptocurrency is that the assailants planned to hold the victim’s relatives hostage to force Bitcoin owners to surrender their assets.

This guilty plea marks the official classification of crimes involving coercion and threats against crypto asset holders within the scope of federal violent crime proceedings.

For crypto holders, this case delivers a clear security warning: as soon as criminals identify someone as a Bitcoin holder, their family, vehicle, residence, or any publicly visible signs of wealth can become targets.

All "wrench attack" cases follow this coercive modus operandi.

The presence of a Lamborghini in the case is not incidental—according to prosecutors, this luxury vehicle is a clear indicator of significant wealth, making it an attractive target for robbery.

This highlights that flashy luxury cars can serve as security alarms, reminding holders to be cautious about exposing their wealth, their close contacts, and the risks of leaking access to digital assets.

This infographic summarizes the 2024 Danbury case involving a violent Bitcoin theft, carjacking of a Lamborghini, and kidnapping of the vehicle owner, revealing details of the conspiracy and the judicial progress of two suspects who pleaded guilty in 2026 and await sentencing.

The point of attack has always been the person

Security research defines a "wrench attack" as a crime involving physical violence and personal coercion to force victims to surrender passwords, private keys, or access to digital assets.

CertiK’s "2025 Wrench Attack Report" classifies such crimes as attacks on "human endpoints," noting that in 2025, 72 similar cases were verified, representing a 75% increase year-over-year.

This is critically important for Bitcoin holders: blockchain protocol security and personal safety are two entirely separate protective systems. Even if the blockchain code itself is secure and Bitcoin cannot be stolen remotely, the asset holder themselves remains highly vulnerable to violence and coercion.

Once criminals identify hardware wallets, seed phrases, exchange accounts, mobile devices, or relatives as potential leverage, all these elements become points of pressure.

In the Danbury case, the coercion channel targeted the victims’ relatives. The U.S. Department of Justice explicitly states that the two kidnapped parents were not involved in the Bitcoin theft.

They were targeted solely because their children were involved in a theft of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin. This makes the case also an example of "indirect hostage-taking" in a robbery.

Similar cases in France demonstrate that this is a widespread security threat. As reported in this publication in March, victims of violence in France are no longer limited to industry insiders or corporate executives; the target group has expanded to include ordinary individuals and private residences, which are frequently invaded.

The Danbury case brings this mature modus operandi into U.S. court records. The conspicuous luxury vehicle is a wealth indicator, family members are leverage, and the ultimate goal of the assailants is to seize Bitcoin.

The core idea of the criminals: find a person who can be physically coerced to unlock crypto assets.

The Danbury case clearly shows that relatives can become indirect kidnapping targets in crypto crimes; while the series of cases in France reveal that when such attacks recur, public safety guidelines, the travel and security habits of industry executives, and individual self-protection methods must all be adjusted.

Europe remains the high-incidence zone for wrench attack cases

Apart from the guilty plea in Danbury, all existing data show that Europe is currently the epicenter of "wrench attack" crimes.

CertiK’s "2026 Wrench Attack Overview Report" states that from January to April 2026, 34 attack cases were verified, with an estimated total property loss of about $101 million.

Of these 34 cases, 28 occurred in Europe, accounting for 82% of all recorded incidents, with France leading the number of cases.

CryptoSlate’s May analysis on wrench attacks also reached the same conclusion: the wave of offline violence and extortion targeting crypto holders continues to accelerate, with Europe remaining the core region, especially France.

CertiK data shows that in 2025, 72 incidents of wrench attacks targeting holders, their families, and devices were confirmed, a 75% increase year-over-year. In the first four months of 2026, 82% of the 34 cases occurred in Europe, with an estimated total loss of about $101 million. The primary risk lies in human targets rather than code vulnerabilities.

The Danbury case confirms that this attack pattern targeting crypto holders has now become a legal challenge for U.S. prosecutors and courts.

Court documents fully illustrate how the offline security crisis caused by crypto assets is integrated into routine violent crime law enforcement: gang recruitment, cross-regional operations, surveillance, hostage-taking of family members, vehicle tracking to locate targets, and coercion with hostages to obtain Bitcoin—forming a clear and complete chain of criminal activity.

For crypto asset holders and industry companies, operational security measures must now expand beyond online risks like phishing, wallet theft, exchange hacks, and smart contract vulnerabilities. Offline identity information, home addresses, electronic devices, and family members also pose significant personal exposure risks.

The next key judicial signal will be the sentencing outcome. Faiq’s August 28 hearing will directly reflect how federal courts define and punish his role in this conspiracy.

In the long run, all significant cases share a common trait: criminals use offline clues—family, residence, vehicle, public social media—to identify and target crypto holders. Such cases have transformed the security crisis initially centered in France into a nationwide issue across the U.S., with each court hearing serving as a risk warning.