DOJ Secures 9th Conviction in $263M Crypto Heist: Money Launderer Pleads Guilty to RICO

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has nailed another member of the social engineering scam that stole $263 million in the past few years.

According to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Evan Tangeman pleaded guilty to participating in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) that helped steal hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets via social engineering schemes.

Related: Crypto Crime Kingpin Danny Suspected Arrested After Massive $18.5M Seizure in Dubai

Ninth Member of Pig Butchering Scam Pleads Guilty

The 22-year-old from Newport Beach, California pleaded guilty before the U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Monday, December 8, 2025. As such, the DoJ has so far nailed nine members of the pig butchering scheme, which began around October 2023 until May 2025.

Tangeman is therefore awaiting his sentencing on April 24, 2026, after being charged with helping launder at least $3.5 million for the enterprise. The announcement noted that Tangeman rented expensive homes for the other members in Los Angeles and Miami, ranging between $40,000 and $80,000 per month.

At one instance, Tangeman helped Malone Lam launder around $3 million by converting crypto to fiat. Meanwhile, the court also announced three additional defendants who were charged with RICO conspiracy.

Among the new defendants named in the Second Superseding Indictment were Nicholas Dellecave, Mustafa Ibrahim, and Danish Zulfiqar. On November 18, 2025, Kunal Mehta pleaded guilty to helping the same gang launder $25 million, whereby he ostensibly charged a 10% fee for converting the stolen crypto assets for fiat.

ZachXBT Reveals Arrest of Another Gang Member

At the heart of this investigation has been onchain sleuth ZachXBT. The popular blockchain investigator helped the law enforcement agencies track more than 4k Bitcoin (BTC), valued at around $243 million, which was stolen from a single victim in 2024.

Earlier on Tuesday, ZachXBT announced that Zulfiqar was arrested and more than $18 million was seized by law enforcement. According to ZachXBT, Danny was also involved in the Kroll SIM Swap from Aug 2023, which stole over $300 million after compromising the PII of BlockFi, Genesis, and FTX creditors

A Silver Lining for the Crypto Industry

The indictment of the nine gang members is a major leap forward for the wider crypto industry. Amid the mainstream adoption of digital assets by institutional investors and retail traders, the arrest is an assurance that crypto is for utmost transparency amid rising calls for privacy-centric transactions.

Moreover, sophisticated investigative techniques have been employed by different firms led by Chainalysis to help secure trillions of dollars in the decentralized financial (DeFi) ecosystem.

Related: Hackers Exploit GANA Payment for $3.1 Million on BSC Chain