Key Takeaways:
Ferro received 78 months for a $250 million RICO scheme targeting U.S. cryptocurrency holders. Bitcoin and hardware wallet users face rising physical threats as crypto fraud evolves beyond the screen.The FBI and IRS-CI continue monitoring global networks to seize assets and pay $2.5 million in restitution.Marlon Ferro, 20, of Santa Ana, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to serve three years of supervised release and pay $2.5 million in restitution. Ferro, known by the online alias “GothFerrari,” pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering-influenced and corrupt organization (RICO).
According to court documents, the enterprise operated between late 2023 and early 2025, employing specialists for database hacking, money laundering, and residential burglary. Conspirators used the stolen funds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including $500,000 nights at nightclubs, private jets, exotic cars valued up to $3.8 million, and luxury handbags used as party favors.
In July 2024, Ferro traveled to New Mexico, where he used a hidden cellphone to monitor a victim’s movements. After co-conspirators tracked the victim’s location via a compromised iCloud account, Ferro smashed a window with a brick to search for hardware wallets. He was caught on the home’s surveillance system.
Beyond the burglaries, Ferro acted as a primary money launderer. Using fraudulent identification, he opened digital payment accounts that allowed the group to spend stolen assets at retail stores and nightclubs. Investigators say he also used illicit funds to pay legal fees for the conspiracy’s leader following an arrest in September 2024.
Ferro was arrested on May 13, 2025. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of two firearms and forged identification documents. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and IRS Criminal Investigation units in Washington, with support from field offices in Los Angeles and Miami.
