California and Missouri Men Charged in Danbury Kidnapping Conspiracy

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a superseding indictment charging three men for their alleged involvement in a kidnapping in Danbury in August 2024.

On February 25, 2025, JAMES SCHWAB, 22, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, was charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  The superseding indictment, which was returned on October 28, 2025, and unsealed yesterday, charges Schwab, ADAM IZA, 25, of California, and SAIF FAIQ, 22, of St. Louis, Missouri, each with the same offense, and an additional charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on August 25, 2024, Danbury Police arrested six Florida men who were involved in a violent carjacking of a Lamborghini Urus and the kidnapping of two occupants of the vehicle on that date.  The investigation revealed that the kidnapping victims are the parents of an individual who is suspected of participating in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

It is alleged that Schwab, Iza, and Faiq planned and coordinated the kidnapping.  Schwab, who had an altercation with the victims’ son in a Miami nightclub in July 2024, was in regular communication with certain of the kidnappers in the days before the crime, provided funding for it, and helped arrange the participants’ transportation and lodging.  Iza communicated via cellphone and encrypted messaging applications with certain of the kidnappers and directed them as to the logistics of the scheme.  Iza also provided funding for the criminal conspiracies.  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.

Schwab was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on January 29, 2025, and is currently released on a $1.5 million secured bond pending trial.

Faiq was arrested on November 12, 2025, and is detained pending his arraignment in Connecticut, which is not scheduled. 

Iza has been detained since September 24, 2024, after he was charged in the Central District of California with unrelated federal offenses.

The charge of conspiracy to commit kidnapping carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and the charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

Six other individuals were charged with offenses related to the carjacking and kidnapping.  All have pleaded guilty.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that 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.

This 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 FBI Task Force includes members from the Connecticut State Police and several local police departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, and the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Danbury for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this matter.