Trio charged in Bay Area cryptocurrency robbery spree

SAN FRANCISCO — Three Tennessee men have been indicted on federal charges related to a robbery spree targeting cryptocurrency holders in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, prosecutors said.

Elijah Armstrong, 21, Nino Chindavanh, 21, and Jayden Rucker, 25, are charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempted Hobbs Act robbery and attempted kidnapping, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate commerce.

Chindavanh was arrested Dec. 22 in Sunnyvale, and Armstrong and Rucker were arrested Dec. 31 in Los Angeles. Chindavanh made his initial appearance in federal court April 14, and Armstrong and Rucker made their initial appearances Monday.

Citing an indictment filed March 31, prosecutors said the men conspired to kidnap and rob victims of cryptocurrency in San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale and Los Angeles.

The trio posed as deliverymen to gain access or attempt to gain access to the victims’ homes, prosecutors said, adding that they then used guns, duct tape and zip ties to assault the victims.

In one incident, a victim was forced at gunpoint to transfer $6.5 million from his cryptocurrency accounts to a wallet controlled by co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

“These individuals, as alleged, terrorized their victims in the hopes of stealing vast sums of cryptocurrency,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in a statement Monday. “The scheme was not only sophisticated, it was brazen, violent and dangerous.”

If convicted, the men face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery and attempted kidnapping, as well as a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

The trio remains in federal custody. Armstrong and Rucker are next set to appear Tuesday for appointment of counsel, and Chindavanh is next set to appear June 26 for a status hearing.