PANews reported on May 7th that, according to The Block, a California man has been sentenced for his involvement in a nationwide social engineering fraud ring that stole over $250 million in crypto assets. 20-year-old Marlon Ferro (also known as "GothFerrari") was sentenced to 78 months in prison, plus three years of supervised release and $2.5 million in restitution. Prosecutors stated that Ferro was the criminal organization's "last resort tool," used to break into homes and steal hardware wallets when his accomplices were unable to gain access to victims' accounts through fraud or hacking.

Federal investigations revealed that the group's activities included database hacking, target identification, fraudulent phone calls, money laundering, and burglaries, primarily targeting victims holding large amounts of cryptocurrency assets. In February 2024, Ferro broke into a home in Texas and stole a hardware wallet containing approximately 100 bitcoins (worth over $5 million at the time) and helped launder the money through exchanges. He was caught on surveillance footage committing another crime in New Mexico in July 2024, and was arrested in May 2025 while carrying two firearms and a fake ID. Ferro pleaded guilty in October 2025.