22-Year-Old Sentenced to 70 Months for $263M Crypto Theft Money Laundering

Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old California resident, was sentenced on Friday to 70 months in federal prison for his role laundering proceeds from a multi-state cryptocurrency theft ring that stole around $263 million in digital assets from victims, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly handed down the sentence in the District of Columbia. Tangeman, of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty in December to a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations conspiracy charge and also received three years of supervised release.

Defendant’s Role and Conduct

Tangeman, who went by online aliases including “E,” “Tate,” and “Evan|Exchanger,” admitted to converting at least $3.5 million in stolen crypto into cash through a bulk-cash converter, and to using fake names to lease luxury homes for members of the group, according to prosecutors. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro of the District of Columbia described the operation as one “built on greed so brazen it borders on the cartoonish,” citing the nightclub tabs, Lamborghinis, and Rolexes funded by stolen crypto. Pirro stated that Tangeman compounded his role by directing the destruction of evidence after several co-conspirators were arrested in 2024, conduct she called a “consciousness of guilt.”

Enterprise Structure and Methodology

The enterprise grew out of friendships formed on online gaming platforms, with members based across California, Connecticut, Florida, New York, and abroad, according to prosecutors. The group divided labor among database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, callers posing as exchange or Google support staff, and residential burglars who targeted victims’ hardware wallets.

Major Theft and Co-Conspirators

The crew’s largest known theft was an August 2024 attack that drained more than 4,100 BTC from a single Washington, D.C. victim, valued at roughly $230 million at the time and now worth more than $321 million at current prices. Co-defendants Malone Lam and Jeandiel Serrano were arrested and charged in September 2024, after on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly identified them and alleged co-conspirator Veer Chetal. Tangeman’s plea last December coincided with the unsealing of a second superseding indictment that added three more defendants to the case: Nicholas Dellecave, Mustafa Ibrahim, and Danish Zulfiqar.

Asset Seizures and Lifestyle Spending

Federal agents seized a 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost and a Porsche GT3 RS from Tangeman’s home, according to filings, and prosecutors said Lam separately arranged the purchase of a Lamborghini Urus for him. Members of the broader group rented mansions in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami for between $40,000 and $80,000 a month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Ongoing Investigation

The investigation, led by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Hart, remains ongoing.