Two teenagers drive 600 miles attempting to rob $66 million in cryptocurrency and are now facing felony charges

On February 8, two high school students from California were charged with a serious crime after allegedly driving over 600 miles to Arizona to carry out a violent home invasion robbery. Their target was a family believed to hold $66 million worth of cryptocurrency. The two suspects, aged 16 and 17, arrived at a home in the Scottsdale Water Ranch community on the morning of January 31 dressed in FedEx uniforms. They forcibly entered the residence, bound two adults with tape, and assaulted them in an attempt to obtain the cryptocurrency. The victims denied possessing any crypto assets, which led to further violent conflict. When police arrived, they found a woman screaming and a man fighting one of the suspects. The two juvenile suspects fled the scene in a blue Subaru but were soon apprehended by police in a dead-end street. The suspects face eight charges, including kidnapping and serious assault. Incidents of “wrench attacks” targeting entities holding crypto assets are on the rise, with approximately 60 reported cases in 2025, significantly higher than about 41 in 2024 and 36 in 2021.