Three St. Louis Men Charged in Bitcoin Kidnapping Plot Targeting Connecticut Home

Federal prosecutors have charged three St. Louis men—Sedric Louis, John Davis, and Martel Williams—for their roles in a violent conspiracy to storm a Connecticut home. The plot targeted the parents of an individual who allegedly stole hundreds of millions in bitcoin. After the St. Louis trio abandoned their armed surveillance in August 2024, a Florida crew executed the plan, resulting in a violent carjacking and kidnapping. Multiple organizers, including Saif Faiq and Adam Iza, have pleaded guilty.

Connecticut bitcoin robbery conspiracy

• ▪The three St. Louis men allegedly planned to storm a Connecticut home to force the transfer of stolen bitcoin worth hundreds of millions of dollars into accounts controlled by the scheme's coordinators.
• ▪Sedric Louis, John Davis, and Martel Williams each face up to 20 years in prison under the federal robbery conspiracy charges.
• ▪Sedric Louis and John Davis pleaded not guilty in Bridgeport federal court on July 30, 2026, while Martel Williams entered a not guilty plea on July 17, 2026.
• ▪Federal prosecutors in Connecticut charged three St. Louis men, Sedric Louis, John Davis, and Martel Williams, with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act.

St. Louis surveillance operation

• ▪The three St. Louis men abandoned their surveillance operation and left Connecticut out of fear that home security cameras had recorded them, alongside frustration and a loss of contact with co-conspirators.
• ▪Between August 21 and August 24, 2024, Sedric Louis, John Davis, and Martel Williams traveled to Connecticut, rented vehicles, gathered air rifles and walkie talkies, and surveilled the target house for two days.

Florida crew carjacking

• ▪Six men associated with the Florida crew were arrested on August 25, 2024, in connection with the carjacking and kidnapping in Connecticut.
• ▪Following the departure of the St. Louis group, a separate crew from Florida arrived in Connecticut and executed a violent carjacking of a Lamborghini Urus on August 25, 2024.

Kidnapping of parents

• ▪The kidnapping plot was initiated after a co-conspirator argued with the victims' son at a Miami nightclub in July 2024 and subsequently coordinated with the kidnappers.
• ▪The kidnapping victims in the Connecticut plot are the parents of an individual who allegedly participated in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin.

Guilty pleas among organizers

• ▪Six individuals charged in connection with the Connecticut carjacking and kidnapping have all entered guilty pleas.
• ▪James Schwab of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, was charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping on February 25, 2025, in connection with the Danbury case.
• ▪Saif Faiq of St. Louis pleaded guilty on June 8, 2026, in Hartford federal court to charges tied to the attempted bitcoin robbery and the Danbury kidnapping.
• ▪Co-conspirator Adam Iza of California pleaded guilty to the Connecticut robbery conspiracy and multiple other federal crimes in California.

Nationwide violent crypto robberies

• ▪Two Texas brothers pleaded guilty in 2026 to an armed robbery that forced an $8 million cryptocurrency transfer after holding a Minnesota family at gunpoint.
• ▪Three men were charged in California over a robbery spree across four cities where attackers posed as delivery workers to restrain cryptocurrency owners and force digital asset transfers.

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