California man admits role in $263 million cryptocurrency theft that funded lavish lifestyle

A 22-year-old from Newport Beach, California has pleaded guilty to his role in a sophisticated criminal network that stole approximately US $263 million in cryptocurrency from victims.

Evan Tangeman is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in connection with what prosecutors have described as a highly-organised criminal enterprise, dubbed the "Social Engineering Enterprise" (SE Enterprise).

The criminal network was reportedly formed through connections made on online gaming platforms, with what started friendships between gamers evolving into a professional operation that targeted victims across the United States.

Some members of SE Enterprise specialised in hacking databases to identify wealthy cryptocurrency investors. Others, known as "callers," would phone their intended victims while pretending to be security staff at cryptocurrency exchanges (such as Coinbase) or email providers (such as Google or Yahoo), tricking them into revealing their login details.

The criminal group also employed money launderers to convert stolen cryptocurrency into cash, and even used burglars to physically break into victims' homes and steal hardware wallets that contained cryptocurrency keys for unlocking fortunes.

The group's largest known heist occurred on August 18, 2024, when gang members allegedly deceived a victim in Washington, DC into transferring more than 4,100 Bitcoin (worth approximately $263 million at the time).

Evan Tangeman admitted to working as a money launderer for the group, helping convert US $3.5 million worth of stolen cryptocurrency into cash. According to the authorities, the proceeds of the theft helped to fund extraordinarily extravagant lifestyles.

The group allegedly rented luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami under false names, paying between US $40,000 and $80,000 per month. They spent up to half a million dollars on single nights out at nightclubs, purchased exotic cars worth as much as US $3.8 million, flew on private jets, and hired personal security guards. Shortly after the August 2024 theft, Tangeman reportedly helped alleged ringleader Malone Lamobtain roughly US $3 million in cash to secure a rental property.

After Lam's arrest in September, 2024, Tangeman is said to have accessed home security systems to screenshot FBI agents searching properties, and asked another member of the group to retrieve and destroy digital devices from Lam's home in Los Angeles.

Alongside Tangeman's guilty plea, prosecutors have unsealed additional charges against three more alleged members of SE Enterprise, including Danish Zulfiqar who was recently arrested in Dubai.

Tangeman is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24 2026.

For all their supposed sophistication, the downfall of the SE Enterprise gang's members was perhaps inevitable. When you spend half a million dollars in a single night at a nightclub, purchase exotic cars worth millions, and rent mansions under false names, you are risking drawing attentio nto yourself. In the end, the SE Enterprise's lavish spending spree turned out to be their undoing.