A family of three and their babysitter were held hostage for five days. Six men have been charged in a crypto extortion case.
An unbelievable case of kidnapping and extortion has shaken Chicago, where six men have been charged with kidnapping a family of three and their babysitter, forcing them to transfer the equivalent of $15 million in cryptocurrency.
According to a recently declassified FBI document reported by the Chicago Tribune, the kidnappers carried out a detailed plan, showing up at the family’s home under the pretext of accidentally damaging their garage. Once inside, they raided the house at gunpoint.
The victims were then forced into a van and taken to an Airbnb an hour away, where they spent the night, before being moved to another location the next day. During their five days of captivity, the kidnappers threatened to kill the hostages if they did not pay the ransom in Bitcoin or Ethereum.
The breakthrough came when one of the victims managed to contact their father via the Chinese messaging app WeChat, informing him of the kidnapping. On November 1, 2024, the hostages were released and went to a local hospital after calling an Uber from a nearby laundromat.
Although the victims claimed to have transferred cryptocurrency worth $15 million, U.S. authorities have so far been able to trace only $6 million.
On December 13, six suspects were formally charged: Zehuan Wei, 34, arrested while attempting to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico on January 17, and Fan Zhang, Huajing Yan, Shengnan Jiang, Shiqiang Lian, and Ye Cao. Some are believed to have fled to China after Wei’s arrest.
Evidence collected by investigators includes surveillance footage from the Airbnb, crypto wallet analysis, and forensic evidence from the white Ford van used in the kidnapping. Investigators also collected DNA samples from a Chrysler Pacifica rented by Wei. At least two victims identified some of the alleged kidnappers through mugshots. The victims reported that the kidnappers spoke both Mandarin and Spanish.
