Twenty-two-year-old Evan Tangeman of Newport Beach, California, has pleaded guilty to participating in a sophisticated cryptocurrency theft ring that managed to pilfer a staggering $263 million from victims across various states. As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the conspiracy rooted in online gaming friendships involved money laundering, database hacking, and even residential burglary.
Tangeman, now the ninth defendant to come forward with a guilty plea, has been pegged as the money launderer for the group that flaunted its ill-gotten gains on extravagant nightlife, luxury goods, and high-end real estate. As part of his plea, Tangeman admitted to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that he assisted in laundering at least $3.5 million. His sentencing is set for April 24, 2026, while the Second Superseding Indictment has brought charges against three additional operatives, Nicholas Dellecave, Mustafa Ibrahim, and Danish Zulfiqar, for their roles in the sprawling scheme.
The enterprise, which began around October 2023 and operated through May 2025, unearthed friendships on gaming platforms and extended its reach to California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and overseas. The court documents detail numerous victims and elaborate strategies of theft – orchestrating one incident where over 4,100 Bitcoin were fraudulently obtained, now worth more than the initial valuation of $263 million.
Following the arrest of co-conspirator Malone Lam in Miami on September 18, 2024, Tangeman was detailed to have tampered with evidence, including accessing home security systems to capture screenshots of FBI agents and instructing another group member to destroy digital devices. This grand-scale investigation saw collaboration from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices in multiple districts, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, Co-Chief of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section, is handling the prosecution.
