Six men have been accused of kidnapping a family from their Chicago townhouse and forcing a transfer of approximately $15 million in cryptocurrency. The victims, which included three family members and their nanny, were held for five days before being released near a dry cleaners.

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, the men allegedly transported their victims across multiple locations while demanding Bitcoin and Ethereum transfers under the threat of harm.

The incident began on October 27, when one of the victims, identified in court records as "Victim A," contacted his father via WeChat to report the abduction. The kidnappers, posing as individuals claiming to have damaged the family’s garage door, forced their way into the residence with firearms before taking the victims hostage.

The victims reported being transported in a white Ford van to an Airbnb in Forest Park, where they were held overnight before being moved to another location. The kidnappers instructed the son to conduct cryptocurrency transactions while also making independent transfers after accessing his accounts.

The FBI affidavit noted that during their captivity, the victims were not severely harmed but were physically intimidated, with one victim being struck with what was later suspected to be a fake gun. They were fed fast food from McDonald's, Subway, and PF Chang’s and heard their captors speaking both Mandarin and Spanish.

The FBI used surveillance footage from multiple locations, including the Forest Park Airbnb and retail stores, to track the movements of the alleged kidnappers. Agents reviewed footage from a McDonald’s in Hampshire, a BP gas station in Oak Park, and Target stores in Streamwood and Schaumburg during the time of the abduction.

Authorities later identified and arrested one of the suspects, 34-year-old Zehuan Wei, on January 17 as he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico. He was taken into custody at a California border crossing and made an initial court appearance soon after. The five other suspects—Fan Zhang, Huajing Yan, Shengnan Jiang, Shiqiang Lian, and Ye Cao—are believed to have fled to China following Wei’s arrest.

The six men were formally charged with kidnapping on December 13, and the investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to track the remaining suspects.