Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old from Newport Beach, California, was sentenced on April 24 to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a crypto scam ring that stole more than $263 million in cryptocurrency.
What Evan Tangeman’s 70-month sentence means
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the sentence, handed down by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in U.S. District Court. In addition to the prison term, Tangeman must serve three years of supervised release.
Tangeman had pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2025 to a RICO conspiracy charge, admitting he helped launder at least $3.5 million for members of the criminal enterprise. He was the ninth defendant to plead guilty in the investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Jeanine Ferris Pirro said of Tangeman: “When his co-conspirators were arrested, he moved to destroy the evidence.”
Tangeman’s role in the $263M crypto scam ring
The criminal enterprise operated from no later than October 2023 through at least May 2025, according to the DOJ. Tangeman served as a money launderer for the group rather than acting as its sole operator.
The scheme’s scale was enormous. On Aug. 18, 2024, co-conspirators fraudulently obtained over 4,100 Bitcoin from a single victim in the District of Columbia. At the time of the theft, that haul was valued at $263 million, a figure that had grown to more than $368 million by December 2025.
Bitcoin currently trades near $77,981, giving the stolen 4,100 BTC a present value north of $319 million. The case is a stark reminder that large-scale social engineering remains one of the most effective attack vectors in crypto, even as entities across the market continue to concentrate significant Bitcoin holdings.
Why this case matters for crypto fraud enforcement
The Tangeman sentencing is part of a broader federal crackdown on crypto-related crime in Washington, D.C. The same U.S. Attorney’s Office said in February 2026 that its Scam Center Strike Force had topped $580 million in frozen and seized cryptocurrency tied to transnational scam operations.
A 70-month sentence for laundering $3.5 million signals that federal prosecutors are pursuing meaningful prison time even for participants who played supporting roles in larger schemes. For an industry where regulatory scrutiny of crypto venues continues to intensify, the case reinforces that enforcement agencies are treating crypto fraud with the same severity as traditional financial crime.
Nine guilty pleas in a single investigation also suggest that prosecutors are methodically working through the full network of participants. With institutional Bitcoin adoption accelerating through ETF inflows, enforcement outcomes like this one set a precedent that could shape how future cases involving organized crypto theft are prosecuted and sentenced.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
