Missouri Man Martel Williams Pleads Guilty in Hartford in Attempted Bitcoin Robbery Scheme, Faces Up to 20 Years
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Martel Williams, 27, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to an offense stemming from his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin in August 2024. The intended target was an individual who participated in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin, and the kidnapping victims in the related August 25, 2024 attack were that individual's parents.
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 on that date. 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.
In an attempt to steal some of that Bitcoin, the individuals who coordinated the attempted robbery and kidnapping first recruited Williams and two associates from St. Louis to carry out the plan. Between approximately August 21 and August 24, 2024, Williams and others traveled to Connecticut and obtained rental vehicles and supplies, including air rifles, walkie talkies and a laptop computer. They then stalked the intended target and his parents over the course of two days, waiting for the opportunity to force their way into their home where they would threaten the target and demand that he transfer the stolen cryptocurrency into accounts controlled by the scheme's coordinators. Fearing that they had been captured on home security cameras and frustrated by the plan and a lack of communication with their co-conspirators, Williams and his associates left Connecticut. Shortly thereafter, the crew from Florida arrived to carry out the plan.
Williams, who was arrested on July 17, 2026, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, known as Hobbs Act Robbery, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He is released pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.
The matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Violent Crimes Task Force, FBI Los Angeles, FBI St. Louis, and the Danbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck and Stephanie T. Levick.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的联邦调查局（FBI）总部 J. Edgar Hoover 大楼，本案由联邦检察官办公室在 Hartford 联邦法院推进。照片：Ajay Suresh，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI headquarters in Washington. Photo: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
