California Man Admits Laundering Over $3.5 Million for $263 Million Crypto Fraud Scheme

A 22-year-old California resident, Evan Tangeman, has pleaded guilty to money laundering in connection with a crypto fraud organization that allegedly stole about 4,100 Bitcoin worth $263 million at the time, according to a December 9 announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice cited by The Block. Tangeman admitted to laundering more than $3.5 million for the group, becoming the ninth defendant to plead guilty in the investigation. The scheme, which ran from October 2023 to May 2025, involved hackers, organizers, target identifiers, phone scammers and burglars who stole hardware wallets, and it used breached websites, servers and stolen databases to identify high-value victims.