DOJ Secures Ninth Conviction In $263M Crypto Theft Ring

- On-chain tracing links the group to major 2024 theft of 4,000 BTC from a D.C. investor

- New RICO charges expand the case as arrests and multimillion-dollar seizures continue

The U.S. Department of Justice has recorded another conviction in a long-running investigation into a criminal enterprise responsible for stealing $263 million in digital assets. Federal prosecutors announced that Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old resident of Newport Beach, California, admitted to participating in a fraud scheme that relied on SIM swaps, deceptive calls, and other social engineering tactics to drain cryptocurrency wallets. His plea marks the ninth conviction tied to what investigators describe as a coordinated operation active between late 2023 and mid-2025.

Tangeman entered his plea on December 8, 2025, before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. According to the Justice Department, he acknowledged helping move at least $3.5 million on behalf of the enterprise. Prosecutors stated that Tangeman assisted by facilitating luxury property rentals in Los Angeles and Miami, with monthly costs ranging from $40,000 to $80,000, to support other participants in the operation.

Court filings also noted that Tangeman helped convert roughly $3 million from crypto to fiat for another member, Malone Lam. His sentencing is scheduled for April 24, 2026. In addition to Tangeman's plea, federal authorities revealed that Nicholas Dellecave, Mustafa Ibrahim, and Danish Zulfiqar were newly charged in a Second Superseding Indictment for conspiring under RICO statutes. Another participant, Kunal Mehta, pleaded guilty on November 18, 2025, after admitting he assisted in moving $25 million in stolen assets and collected a 10% fee for his role.

Blockchain Tracing Helps Lead to Arrests

On-chain investigator ZachXBT played a central part in mapping the syndicate's activity across digital wallets. According to his findings, more than 4,000 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC), valued at approximately $243 million, was taken from a single Washington, D.C. investor in 2024. ZachXBT reported on Tuesday that Zulfiqar had been arrested and that law enforcement seized more than $18 million linked to the group.

He also stated that Zulfiqar, referred to as "Danny" in his posts, had prior involvement in the August 2023 Kroll SIM-swap incident that compromised data from BlockFi, Genesis, and FTX creditors, leading to the theft of more than $300 million.

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