California man jailed in $250M crypto theft case

A US federal court has sentenced a California man to 78 months in prison for participating in a nationwide crypto theft conspiracy that stole more than $250 million in digital assets.

Marlon Ferro, also known as “GothFerrari,” was sentenced on Wednesday and ordered to serve three years of supervised release alongside paying $2.5 million in restitution, according to the US Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said Ferro was part of a sophisticated social engineering ring that targeted individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings through fraud, hacking, money laundering and residential burglaries.

“When his co-conspirators couldn't deceive victims into handing over access to their cryptocurrency or hack their way into digital accounts, they turned to Ferro to break into homes and steal hardware wallets outright,”

US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said.

Authorities said Ferro travelled to Texas in February 2024 and stole a hardware wallet containing around 100 Bitcoin worth more than $5 million at the time.

Investigators also linked Ferro to a July 2024 burglary in New Mexico where he allegedly attempted to steal another crypto hardware wallet before later being identified through home surveillance footage.

Ferro was arrested in May 2025 while allegedly in possession of two firearms and a fake identification document before later pleading guilty to conspiracy charges connected to racketeering activities.

Federal investigators said the broader criminal enterprise operated between late 2023 and early 2025 through tactics including database hacking, fraudulent phone calls and laundering stolen crypto assets through exchanges.

“Today's sentence sends a clear message: cryptocurrency fraud is not a victimless, consequence-free crime carried out safely behind a screen,”

Pirro said.

The sentencing comes as crypto-related fraud losses reached a record $11.3 billion last year, accounting for more than half of the FBI’s reported internet crime losses.