Missouri Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Cryptocurrency Robbery Scheme

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SAIF FAIQ, 23, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 48 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Danbury in August 2024.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 25, 2024, Danbury Police arrested six Florida men who were involved in a violent carjacking of a Lamborghini Urus and the kidnapping of two occupants of the vehicle on that date. The investigation revealed that the kidnapping victims are the parents of an individual who participated in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin. In an attempt to steal some of that Bitcoin, Faiq and others planned and coordinated the attempted robbery and ultimately the kidnapping. Faiq's alleged co-coconspirator, who had an altercation with the victims' son in a Miami nightclub in July 2024, was in regular communication with certain of the kidnappers in the days before the crime, provided funding for it, and helped arrange the participants' transportation and lodging. Faiq's brother, Adam Iza, communicated via cellphone and encrypted messaging applications with certain of the kidnappers, directed them as to the logistics of the scheme, and also provided funding. Faiq recruited participants for the crime, traveled to Connecticut for the planned home invasion and kidnapping, coordinated with Iza, and helped conduct surveillance on the victims.

Faiq has been detained since his arrest on November 12, 2025. On June 8, 2026, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery ("Hobbs Act Robbery").

Iza pleaded guilty to the same offense and, on September 9, 2026, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Violent Crimes Task Force, FBI Los Angeles, FBI St. Louis, and the Danbury Police Department. The FBI Task Force includes members from the Connecticut State Police and several local police departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck and Stephanie T. Levick.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Central District of California, the Eastern District of Missouri, the District of Columbia, and the District of New Jersey, and the State's Attorney's Office for the Judicial District of Danbury, for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this matter.