Three Men From Tennessee Indicted In Strong-arm Crypto Robbery Spree Across Bay Area and LA

"Three young men from Tennessee were indicted by a federal grand jury and may lead investigators to the co-conspirator or co-conspirators who guided them to holders of large sums of crypto in California. The three men in their 20s from Tennessee who were earlier identified by federal investigators 21-year-old Elijah Armstrong, 21-year-old Nino Chindavanh, and 25-year-old Jayden Rucker have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of kidnapping and robbery in connection with multiple violent incidents in the Bay Area and Los Angeles in November and December 2025."

"In that incident, someone linked to Sam Altman's ex Lachy Groom was robbed at gunpoint of $13 million in cryptocurrency, with the lone perpetrator posing as a package delivery person before pushing his way into the home. San Francisco police say that the victim was tied up with duct tape and assaulted until he gave up his crypto wallet passwords and the suspect was in contact the whole time with another man on a cellphone with a raspy (or digitally altered) voice."

"Investigators said they linked at least one of the cellphones involved to a Washington state man with a criminal history who has not yet been identified or charged. A new press release from the Department of Justice, detailing the indictments against the three men, does not mention any unidentified co-conpirators, and it's unclear which of the men committed the San Francisco heist."

"Chindavanh was arrested in December in Sunnyvale after allegedly posing as a DoorDash driver and attempting to push his way into a victim's home with a gun. Armstrong and Rucker were arrested in Los Angeles after a robbery similar to the one that occurred in San Francisco, invo"

Three men from Tennessee, aged 21, 21, and 25, were indicted by a federal grand jury on kidnapping and robbery charges connected to multiple violent incidents in the Bay Area and Los Angeles in November and December 2025. The incidents include a home-invasion robbery near San Francisco’s Dolores Park on November 22, where a victim was tied up with duct tape and assaulted until crypto wallet passwords were provided. The suspect posed as a package delivery person, pushed into the home, and communicated with another man by cellphone using a raspy or digitally altered voice. Investigators linked at least one cellphone to a Washington state man with a criminal history who has not been identified or charged. A DOJ release does not name any co-conspirators, and it remains unclear which defendant committed the San Francisco heist.

Read at sfist.com