Why Fastjack closed

Fastjack closed in December 2023, the day federal agents came to our home in the Twin Cities. It is not coming back.

The morning everything stopped

There was a horrible banging at my door. A dozen armed federal agents in tactical gear came into our home, shouting, with guns drawn, while my wife and our five children were inside. My family was terrified. I still think about my kids’ faces that morning.

That’s how I learned there was a federal investigation. Agents contacted my employer and I lost my job. My bank accounts were seized. All of this happened before any trial, before a single juror had heard a word.

What I lost

I’ve lost my job, my savings and my good name in a lot of places. None of that is what keeps me up at night. What I grieve is my family: the ordinary days with my wife and kids, and the peace we had before. For a while I didn’t know if I’d get to keep them at all. Later, six agents with rifles took me away in shackles while my wife didn’t know where I was.

Why I won’t reopen

People still ask me to start again. I understand why. But my answer is no, and it will stay no. My wife and five children come first. I can’t risk losing my family, and I won’t.

The federal case that followed is United States v. Brandstrom in St. Paul, Minnesota. The facts and my side of it are on ryanbrandstrom.com.