Federal prosecutors announced on the 6th (local time) that a 20-year-old man involved in a social engineering crime syndicate that stole over $250 million in cryptocurrency in the United States was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in prison by a federal court in Washington D.C. Marlon Ferro, who operated online as 'GothFerrari,' pleaded guilty in October 2025 to racketeering conspiracy (RICO) charges. The organization, based in California, New York, Florida, and other locations from late 2023 to early 2025, distributed roles such as database hacking, impersonation calls, money laundering, and home invasion to steal victims' cryptocurrencies. Ferro was responsible for physically stealing cold wallets that could not be accessed remotely, participating in crimes such as invading a victim's home in Texas in February 2024 and stealing approximately 100 BTC (worth over $5 million at the time). He purchased over $255,000 worth of luxury goods with the stolen funds, and even after the organization's leader was arrested in September of the same year, he converted cryptocurrency into cash to pay for legal fees. The court ordered imprisonment, along with three years of supervised release and $2.5 million in restitution.
