A 22-year-old Newport Beach man who helped launder millions in stolen cryptocurrency and drove around in luxury cars bought with the loot was sentenced Friday to 70 months in federal prison.
Evan Tangeman got the nearly six-year term in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on April 24, for his part in a sprawling criminal ring that stole more than $263 million in cryptocurrency.
The group used social engineering tactics to lure victims into handing over their digital wallets. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro called the spending that followed “greed so brazen it borders on the cartoonish.”
Tangeman pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2025, to one count of participating in a racketeering-influenced and corrupt organization, or RICO, conspiracy.
He admitted he laundered at least $3.5 million for the crew. His plea marked the ninth guilty plea in the long-running investigation.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly also ordered three years of supervised release after prison. She pointed to Tangeman’s efforts to destroy evidence once his co-conspirators began to be arrested as a clear sign of guilt.
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The scheme, which grew out of friendships formed on online gaming platforms, began at least as early as October 2023 and continued through at least May 2025.
Members were from California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and overseas.
Roles within the group included database hackers, organizers, target pickers, callers who sweet-talked victims, and even burglars who broke into homes to steal hardware crypto wallets.
Tangeman went by online names like “E,” “Tate,” and “Evan|Exchanger.” His job was turning stolen crypto into usable cash.
He worked with real estate agents in Los Angeles to rent huge mansions for the group. The young men in the crew, many still teenagers or barely out of their teens, did not have real jobs and wanted to avoid questions about how they could afford $40,000 to $80,000 a month in rent. Some of those homes went for $4 million to nearly $9 million.
When the gang moved its operations to Miami in September 2024, Tangeman also set up rental houses there. He took commissions from the laundering work and spent them on luxury goods for himself.
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The money funded a wild lifestyle as the group members dropped up to $500,000 in a single night at nightclubs.
They bought luxury handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars and gave them away at parties.
Rolex and other high-end watches ran from $100,000 to more than $500,000. They rented private jets, hired teams of security guards, and filled garages with exotic cars.
Tangeman got his share of the rewards. Co-defendant Malone Lam helped buy him a widebody Lamborghini Urus.
When agents searched Tangeman’s place, they seized a black 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost worth more than $300,000 and a white-and-black Porsche GT3 RS.
After the first arrests, Malone Lam and Jeandiel Serrano, Tangeman told another co-defendant, Tucker Desmond, to destroy digital devices tied to the group. Prosecutors said that move showed he knew he was in trouble.
Crypto owners targeted
The ring targeted crypto owners across the country with clever scams that often began with hacked data or phone calls impersonating tech support or investment firms.
Once they had access to wallets, the money flowed out fast. Tangeman helped hide the trail so the thieves could enjoy the cash without raising red flags.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and IRS Criminal Investigation in D.C. Agents from FBI offices in Los Angeles and Miami, plus prosecutors in California, Florida, and New Jersey, gave key help.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Hart handled the prosecution, with assistance from former AUSA Kevin Rosenberg.
Tangeman’s sentencing closes another chapter in what prosecutors describe as one of the more flashy crypto crime rings they have seen.
The stolen money vanished into nightclub tabs, designer clothes, watches, jets, and a fleet of supercars.
