Missouri man pleads guilty in Danbury crypto kidnapping case: Feds

In a release, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan said Saif Faiq, a 22-year-old from St. Louis, pleaded guilty in federal court in Hartford to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. 

In an attempt to steal some of that Bitcoin, Sullivan said, Faiq and others planned and coordinated the attempted robbery and ultimately the kidnapping. He said 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 some of the kidnappers in the days before the crime, provided funding for it, and helped arrange the participants’ transportation and lodging.

Sullivan said Faiq’s brother, Adam Iza, communicated via cellphone and encrypted messaging applications with some of the kidnappers, directed them as to the logistics of the scheme and also provided funding. He said 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’s guilty plea to the charge, which is also known as Hobbs Act Robbery, will see him serving up to 20 years in prison, Sullivan said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 28, and has been in custody since his arrest on Nov. 12, 2025.

Iza pleaded guilty to the same offense on June 1, 2026, Sullivan said, and is detained while awaiting sentencing. He said six other individuals were charged with offenses related to the carjacking and kidnapping, with all having pleaded guilty.