Three Missouri men have been charged by indictment for their alleged involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin, according to a July 31 announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
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 and the beating and kidnapping of two occupants of the vehicle. 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.
It is alleged that SEDRIC LOUIS, 32, JOHN DAVIS, 34, and MARTEL WILLIAMS, 27—all from St. Louis—were recruited to carry out a plan to steal some of that Bitcoin. Between approximately August 21 and August 24, 2024, Louis, Davis, Williams and others traveled to Connecticut where they obtained rental vehicles and supplies such as air rifles and walkie talkies. They then stalked their intended target and his parents over two days while waiting for an opportunity to force entry into their home with plans to threaten them into transferring stolen cryptocurrency into accounts controlled by scheme coordinators. Fearing exposure on security cameras and frustrated by communication issues with co-conspirators, Louis, Davis and Williams left Connecticut; another group from Florida later arrived to continue the plan.
On May 22, 2026, a grand jury in New Haven returned a second superseding indictment charging Louis, Davis and Williams with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act—a charge carrying up to twenty years imprisonment. Louis and Davis have been detained since their arrests on June 25; both appeared in Bridgeport federal court on July 30, where they entered pleas of not guilty. Williams appeared earlier on July 17, when he also pleaded not guilty before being released on bond.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan said, “An indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The case is being investigated by multiple FBI offices including New Haven Violent Crimes Task Force—with participation from local police departments—and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck and Daniel George. Several other U.S. Attorney’s Offices assisted with this matter.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut prosecutes federal crimes within its jurisdiction—including cases like this one—and handles civil cases for the government throughout Connecticut while employing about sixty-eight assistant attorneys along with support staff members; it operates under the Department of Justice umbrella, according to its official website.