20-Year-Old Sentenced to 78 Months in $250M Crypto Theft

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentenced 20-year-old California resident Marlon Ferro, known online as GothFerrari, to 78 months in prison for his role in a cryptocurrency theft conspiracy that defrauded victims of more than $250 million nationwide. Ferro, from Santa Ana, pleaded guilty on October 17, 2025, to conspiracy to participate in a racketeer-influenced and corrupt organization before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. In addition to the prison term, he must serve three years of supervised release and pay $2.5 million in restitution.

The criminal enterprise operated from late 2023 to early 2025, involving members in California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and overseas. Prosecutors described a sophisticated operation that combined digital and physical tactics to target individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings. Members hacked databases to identify victims, made fraudulent phone calls to gain wallet access, took over accounts remotely, laundered funds through exchanges, and resorted to residential burglaries when online methods failed.

Ferro served as the group's physical operative, breaking into homes to steal hardware wallets that stored...