A federal judge in Washington sentenced Evan Tangeman, 22, of Newport Beach, California, to 70 months in prison for laundering proceeds from a $263 million cryptocurrency theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said. Tangeman pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2025, to participating in a RICO conspiracy and admitted helping launder at least $3.5 million for members of the criminal enterprise.
Evan Tangeman, 22, of Newport Beach, California, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for laundering millions of dollars generated by an elaborate social engineering scheme orchestrated by a multi-state criminal enterprise that stole more than $263 million in cryptocurrency… pic.twitter.com/LwV1Usb0jY
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) April 24, 2026
Social engineering turned into organized laundering
Prosecutors said the group operated from at least October 2023 through May 2025, using database hackers, target identifiers, callers and residential burglars to steal crypto from victims. One August 2024 incident involved more than 4,100 Bitcoin taken from a victim in Washington, D.C., worth $263 million at the time.
Tangeman, who used aliases including “E,” “Tate” and “Evan|Exchanger,” served as a principal money launderer for the group, converting stolen crypto into fiat cash and helping secure luxury rental homes in Los Angeles and Miami. Some homes rented for $40,000 to $80,000 per month.
Luxury spending became an evidentiary trail
The stolen funds financed an extravagant spending pattern that prosecutors used to show the scale of the operation, including nightclub tabs, Lamborghinis and Rolex watches. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said the enterprise was built on greed “so brazen it borders on the cartoonish.”
After co-defendants Malone Lam and Jeandiel Serrano were arrested in September 2024, prosecutors said Tangeman directed another enterprise member to destroy digital evidence, a factor highlighted in the government’s account of his conduct. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release.
For exchanges, banks and high-value asset sellers, the case reinforces the traceability risk that emerges when stolen crypto is converted into cash, property and luxury goods. The investigation has produced nine guilty pleas so far and remains a warning that laundering chains, not only the original theft, are now a major enforcement target.