A 22-year-old California man, Evan Tangeman, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for his role in laundering millions of dollars from a massive $263 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme. The sentencing took place on April 24, 2026, in the United States District Court in Washington, D.C.
According to US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the crime was committed through an operation based on greed that reached an absurd level. The investigation was handled by the District of Columbia US Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Washington Field Office), and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (Washington, DC Field Office).
Evan Tangeman, also known as "E," "Tate," and "Evan|Exchanger," acted as a money launderer for a criminal group that included database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, call makers, and individuals involved in residential burglaries targeting hardware cryptocurrency wallets. Tangeman converted stolen cryptocurrency into fiat cash and used the proceeds to purchase luxury homes for his crime partners. The group enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle, spending millions on luxury cars and club visits, with one bill reportedly reaching $500,000.
When the scale of the fraud became known, Tangeman instructed his co-defendant, Tucker Desmond, to dispose of electronic devices used by the criminal group. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Will Hart from the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Division.
This case is part of a broader crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes. On April 17, 2026, British citizen Tyler Robert Buchanan, 24, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for hacking at least $8 million in cryptocurrency between 2021 and 2023 using SMS phishing and SIM swapping. Buchanan faces up to 22 years in prison, with sentencing set for August 21, 2026. His accomplice, Noah Urban, received a 10-year federal prison sentence in August 2025 along with $13 million in fines.
In early 2026, the FBI also arrested the son of a government contractor in Saint Martin for allegedly stealing over $46 million in cryptocurrency that had been impounded by US Marshals. Other cases have resulted in a 20-year prison sentence for a $73 million global crypto investment fraud. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Report for 2025, cryptocurrency losses totaled $11 billion.
