The gang included hackers and social engineering specialists.
The group’s launderer, Evan Tangeman, admitted to laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia revealed new developments about a network of young people who, through social engineering, managed to appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars (USD) in cryptocurrencies from victims in the country to finance a luxurious lifestyle.
Within this plot, called the RICO conspiracy, is Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old boy from Newport Beach, California. The person involved admitted to having laundered at least USD 3.5 million obtained through these thefts.
Tangeman’s confession makes him the ninth member of the organization to admit to the charges. His sentencing was set for April 24, 2026 by order of Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
For its part, the court presented a new accusation that incorporates three other suspects with key roles within the criminal network.
This points to Nicholas Dellecave – known as “Nic” and “Souja” -, arrested in Miami on December 3, 2025, as well as Mustafa Ibrahim (“Krust”) and Danish Zulfiqar (“Danny” and “Meech”), recently arrested in Dubai. According to prosecutors, the three would have conspired together with the other members of the organization.
The structure was born from links forged on video game platforms and quickly evolved into a transnational criminal operation active between 2023 and 2025.
The group was made up of young people from California, Connecticut, New York, Florida and other countries, each with specific functions. Justice speaks of hackers, recruiters, telephone scammers and even thieves who broke into homes to steal physical cryptocurrency wallets.
Tangeman played a key role in the scheme: was in charge of converting stolen cryptocurrencies into cash and to hide its origin through rental homes in areas such as Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami—some were between USD 40,000 and USD 80,000—, among other operations.
Parties, exotic cars and luxury rentals
The prosecutors describe a notable level of waste. With the illicit funds, the group spent exorbitant sums on nightclubs, watches valued between USD 100,000 and USD 500,000, luxury bags and clothing.
They also hired private jets, employed bodyguards and put together a collection of more than 28 exotic cars, some with values close to $4 million. Part of these expenses were managed by Tangeman himself.
One of the most serious events attributed to the organization occurred in August 2024, when several of its members They deceived a victim in Washington DC and stole 4,100 units of bitcoin (BTC)equivalent then to USD 263 million.
With current values, that figure exceeds USD 368 million, making the episode one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts through social engineering recorded in the United States.
According to the investigation, Tangeman continued operating after that hit. After the arrest in Miami, in September 2024, of one of the group’s leaders—co-conspirator Malone Lam—he accessed the security systems of one of the houses used by the organization and obtained images of the FBI raiding the properties. He then urged another member to enter a Los Angeles home to remove and destroy electronic devices in an attempt to eliminate evidence.
Tangeman’s case is part of a global scenario of greater pressure against crime linked to cryptocurrencies. As CriptoNoticias reported, in October the United States and the United Kingdom dealt a historic blow to a transnational scam network in Southeast Asia, announcing the seizure of 127,271 BTC—about USD 15 billion—the largest seizure in the history of the Department of Justice.