Another key figure, Evan Tangeman, has pleaded guilty in a $263 million cryptocurrency money laundering case in the United States.

2025-12-09 02:10:24

ME News: On December 9 (UTC+8), the US Department of Justice announced today that a key figure in a $263 million social engineering scheme has pleaded guilty. Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old California resident, admitted before US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that he participated in a conspiracy as defined by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), laundering over $3.5 million for the scheme. The statement noted that Tangeman is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in the investigation.

This social engineering scheme was carried out from October 2023 to May 2025. The criminal group initially consisted of a group of online gaming friends scattered across California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and overseas. The scheme stole approximately 4,100 bitcoins, worth $263 million at the time; those bitcoins are now valued at $371 million. The group included hackers, organizers, target identifiers, phone scammers, and residential burglars who targeted hardware wallets, leveraging stolen databases to identify victims. Hackers infiltrated websites and servers to obtain cryptocurrency-related databases, while target identifiers used these databases to determine the most valuable targets. Tangeman’s sentencing is scheduled for April 24, 2026.

Previous reports stated that US man Kunal Mehta pleaded guilty to assisting in laundering $263 million in crypto assets and had purchased 28 luxury cars for the group. (Source: ME)

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