Man sentenced to 4 years in Danbury kidnapping tied to alleged $245M crypto heist

A 23-year-old St. Louis man received a four-year federal prison sentence on Wednesday for his role in a violent, multi-state conspiracy to kidnap a Danbury couple, a plot that U.S. prosecutors maintain was retaliation for a staggering $245 million cryptocurrency theft. Saif Faiq appeared in Hartford federal court, where U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan announced the sentence alongside a mandatory two-year term of supervised release.

The sentencing marks another milestone in a bizarre legal saga that bridges high-end Miami nightlife, a suburban Connecticut real estate hunt, and an alleged international digital asset heist.

Ambush on Damia Drive and the Rescue on Cowperthwaite Street

The sequence of events began on August 25, 2024. As newstimes.com reported, a Danbury couple was driving a blue Lamborghini Urus to look at a new home near Damia Drive when another vehicle intentionally rammed them. Masked assailants emerged, attacked the couple with baseball bats, and forced them into a van.

Alert witnesses quickly notified local law enforcement. Officers tracked the suspect vehicle to Cowperthwaite Street, where they discovered the victims bound with duct tape. Both victims required hospital treatment for their injuries. Initially, investigators suspected the couple had simply been targeted for driving an expensive luxury vehicle, but a deeper financial trail soon dismantled that theory.

From Miami Nightlife to a Multimillion-Dollar Ransom Plot

Federal investigators pieced together a much larger conspiracy tied to the couple’s son, Veer Chetal. According to prosecutors, the plot took shape after a July 2024 altercation involving Chetal and one of the co-conspirators inside a Miami nightclub.

Man sentenced in Danbury kidnapping tied to $245M crypto heist — Photo: europesays.com

Authorities established that the dispute stemmed from Chetal’s alleged involvement in a crypto heist that swindled a Washington man out of more than 4,000 Bitcoin. Chetal ultimately pleaded guilty last year to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges.

Investigators stated that Faiq stepped in to help plan and coordinate the subsequent kidnapping scheme. His tasks included recruiting participants, traveling to Connecticut to help map out the abduction, and surveilling the victims. Meanwhile, co-conspirators provided funding, lodging, and encrypted messaging direction.

Co-Conspirators and Sentences Handed Down

The legal fallout has swept up numerous individuals across multiple states. Prosecutors identified the primary co-conspirators as James Schwab of Georgia and Adam Iza of California. Iza has already pleaded guilty to the same offense as Faiq and received a significantly steeper sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

Man sentenced to 4 years in Danbury kidnapping tied to alleged $245M crypto heist — Photo: justice.gov

Additionally, six individuals identified as the physical kidnappers—Angel Borrero, 23; Reynaldo Diaz, 22; Anthony Pena, 23; Josue Romero, 26; Ricardo Estrada, 21; and Michael Rivas, 18—have all pleaded guilty to charges related to the carjacking and abduction.

With Faiq now sentenced to four years behind bars, the federal docket on the Danbury kidnapping nears completion, even as questions persist regarding the recovery of the massive digital asset fortune that triggered the violence in the first place.