(KTLA) – A 22-year-old man from Newport Beach, California, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for stealing $263 million in cryptocurrency to fund a “fantastically extravagant” lifestyle, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.
Evan Tangeman used an “elaborate social engineering scheme orchestrated by a multi-state criminal enterprise” to steal the cryptocurrency, Pirro said. On Dec. 8, 2025, Tangeman pleaded guilty to participating in a RICO conspiracy and admitted he helped launder at least $3.5 million for members of that criminal enterprise.
“This criminal enterprise was built on greed so brazen it borders on the cartoonish,” Pirro said. “They stole millions, spent it on half-million-dollar nightclub tabs, Lamborghinis, and Rolexes. But Evan Tangeman didn’t just launder the money that fueled that lifestyle. When his co-conspirators were arrested, he moved to destroy the evidence. That is consciousness of guilt, and this office and the court have treated that accordingly.”
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The crimes were committed between October 2023 and May 2025 by members of the criminal organization living in California, Connecticut, Florida, New York and abroad. The organization was made up of friends who met through online video games, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said…