California Money Launderer Sentenced to 70 Months for Role in Scheme that Stole 263 Million

California Money Launderer Sentenced to 70 Months

Evan Tangeman, 22, of Newport Beach, California, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 70 months in prison for laundering millions of dollars generated by an elaborate social engineering scheme orchestrated by a multi-state criminal enterprise that stole more than $263 million in cryptocurrency. This criminal enterprise was built on greed so brazen it borders on the cartoonish. They stole millions, spent it on half-million-dollar nightclub tabs, Lamborghinis, and Rolexes.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated, “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.”

Tangeman pleaded guilty on December 8, 2025, to participating in a RICO conspiracy and admitted that he helped to launder at least $3.5 million for members of the enterprise. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Tangeman to serve three years of supervised release.

The criminal enterprise began no later than October 2023 and continued through at least May 2025. It grew from friendships developed on online gaming platforms and was comprised of individuals based in California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and abroad. Tangeman, also known as “E,” “Tate,” and “Evan

Exchanger,” was a money launderer for the group that included database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, callers, and residential burglars targeting hardware virtual currency wallets.

Members and associates of the social engineering enterprise used stolen virtual currency to purchase luxury items, including nightclub services, luxury handbags, watches, clothing, rental homes, private jet rentals, and a fleet of exotic cars. Tangeman converted the stolen cryptocurrency into fiat cash and worked with real estate agents in Los Angeles to procure large mansions for members of the enterprise.

When the first members of the criminal enterprise were arrested, it was Tangeman who directed co-defendant Tucker Desmond to destroy digital devices belonging to members of the enterprise.

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