A Georgia man has been indicted for allegedly helping mastermind a violent carjacking and kidnapping in Danbury in August that authorities believe was tied to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

James Schwab, 22, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia faces one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping following an indictment returned by a grand jury in New Haven on Feb. 25, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. The charge carries a maximum of life in prison.

Federal officials said Schwab was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on Jan. 29 at the Los Angeles International Airport when he returned to the country from a trip to Bali. He has been in custody since.

According to federal authorities, investigators alleged that Schwab helped orchestrate a carjacking and kidnapping on Aug. 25 targeting the parents of an individual who is suspected of participating in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Authorities said Schwab allegedly had an altercation with the victims’ son in a Miami nightclub in July 2024.

Officers with the Danbury Police Department received multiple 911 calls around 5:40 p.m. reporting that several males had just assaulted a man and forced him into a white work van. Responding officers spotted the van on Clapboard Ridge Road near the intersection of East Gate Road and tried to pull it over, officials said.

The driver accelerated quickly and crashed about a mile away on Cowperthwaite Street, officials said. Four men dressed in black allegedly abandoned the van and fled on foot. They were all apprehended nearby.

Two additional suspects were later found at a short-term rental home in Roxbury. The victims’ Lamborghini was found abandoned in the woods off of East King Street.

Inside the back of the van, police found a man and a woman bound with duct tape. The man had been severely beaten with a baseball bat and was suffering from injuries to his face and arm, federal authorities said. Both victims were taken to an area hospital to be further evaluated.

According to officials, the victims reported that they were both in a Lamborghini Urus when they were allegedly rear-ended by a Honda Civic on Damia Drive in Danbury. A white work van then cut in front of their vehicle before the victims alleged that they were forcibly removed from the Lamborghini and dragged to the van and bound with duct tape, authorities said. When the man tried to resist, the kidnappers allegedly punched him in the face and struck him with a baseball bat, according to officials.

Federal authorities said both victims alleged that they were repeatedly told they would be killed.

Schwab was allegedly in regular communication with some of the kidnappers in the days preceding the carjacking, according to officials. He has been accused of funding the conspiracy and helping arrange travel and lodging for the kidnappers, authorities said.

According to federal officials, five of the six Florida residents charged in connection with the kidnapping have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

Originally Published: March 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM EDT