FBI most wanted suspect found and arrested in Columbus

Mark Feuerborn
·2 min read
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The FBI found a most wanted suspect in Columbus on Thursday who used nicknames including “bit coin”, “Simswapping”, “user data god”, “Tuyal” and “yahoo.emails.”

Agents arrested 18-year-old Brayden Grace after accusing him of being involved in multiple swatting calls across the United States. He faces charges including conspiracy, interstate stalking, interstate threatening communication and interstate threat involving fire or explosives.

While Grace had alleged involvement in incidents across the country, he was accused of a local threat as well. Federal court documents listed one incident on Jan. 5 where Grace called the Hollywood Casino in west Columbus. Going by the nickname “bit coin,” he threatened casino staff on the phone with a shooting and burning down the building unless he received $100,000 in cash and a helicopter.

There were two phone calls placed, one from a person allegedly inside the casino. in which the caller said he had a bomb strapped to his chest while inside the casino. The caller told a 911 operator that a second person had a sniper rifle on top of the parking garage.

A second call came in from a person claiming to be on the parking garage with a sniper rifle in his hand. He told a 911 operator there was also a person inside the casino with a bomb who would “blow this place up”. Police canvased the area and a CPD helicopter searched the entire perimeter. Multiple phone numbers were pinged during the investigation, but those attempts were unsuccessful.

Grace was part of a group active on Instagram and Telegram called “Purgatory,” which used the social media platforms to plan multiple swatting calls between December and January. Court documents said afterward, they would announce the swatting calls they made on the platforms.

Alongside the casino call, Grace and others in Purgatory were accused of the following other swatting calls in a federal indictment:

  • A threat to burn down a residential trailer park in Alabama

  • A shooting threat against a teacher and unnamed students at a high school in the state of Delaware

  • A shooting and bomb threat to the Albany International Airport in New York

  • A multiple homicide event and shooting threat against individuals in a residence in Eastman, Georgia.

Grace will appear in federal court on May 20 at 1 p.m. for a detention hearing in which a judge will decide whether to release, assign bail or detain Grace.

If convicted, Grace faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy, cyberstalking and interstate threat and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each charge to damage or destroy by means of fire and explosive.

The FBI did not share if it had found other members of Purgatory as of Thursday, or if they were also located in central Ohio.

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