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California man sentenced to 70 months over $263 million money laundering scheme

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, California man Evan Tangeman was sentenced to 70 months for laundering stolen cryptocurrency tied to a roughly $263 million theft ring and using aliases to conceal proceeds.

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Fact Check
The claim is strongly supported by the DOJ press release titled "California Money Launderer Sentenced in D.C. to 70 Months for Role in Scheme that Stole $263 Million," which directly confirms the sentence, Tangeman's identity, his California residence, and the $263 million figure. The related DOJ release, "Guilty Plea and Superseding Indictment Announced in Social Engineering Scheme that Stole $263 Million in Cryptocurrency," independently confirms his role in the same scheme. The official U.S. Attorney's Office X post repeats the same facts. The only part not visible in the fetched DOJ excerpt is the specific allegation that he destroyed evidence after co-conspirators were arrested; that detail appears in the secondary report from crypto.news and is consistent with the user's wording that this came from DOJ, but the fetched DOJ snippet alone does not show it. Overall, the core claim is clearly true, with very strong official-source support.
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Summary

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, California man Evan Tangeman was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a criminal network tied to roughly $263 million in stolen cryptocurrency. He admitted laundering at least $3.5 million by converting the funds into cash and renting luxury homes under aliases. The case involved an interstate theft ring, and its largest theft took more than 4,100 Bitcoin worth about $230 million in August 2024. Prosecutors also said Tangeman destroyed evidence after co-conspirators were arrested.

Terms & Concepts
  • money laundering: The process of moving or disguising illicit funds to hide their criminal origin and make them appear legitimate.
  • Bitcoin: The largest cryptocurrency by market value, used as a digital asset and payment network secured by blockchain technology.
  • stolen cryptocurrency: Digital assets taken unlawfully through theft, fraud, or unauthorized transfers.