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A District of Columbia court sentenced 20-year-old Marlon Ferro to 78 months in prison for stealing $250 million in cryptocurrency from US residents, along with his accomplices. The court also sentenced him to three years of probation and ordered him to forfeit $2.5 million.
According to US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, from late 2023 to early 2025, Ferro and his accomplices hacked databases, called potential victims, and broke into homes to steal digital assets, as well as launder money. They targeted people who were likely to own large sums of cryptocurrency. When the accomplices failed to deceive their way into accessing the crypto addresses, Ferro, also known as GothFerrari, entered the victims' homes and stole their hardware wallets, according to the indictment. In February 2024, Ferro broke into a Texas home and stole a hardware wallet containing approximately 100 bitcoins worth approximately $5 million, according to prosecutors.
The stolen bitcoins were laundered through cryptocurrency exchanges. According to case documents, in July 2024, Ferro flew to New Mexico, where he spent several days monitoring the home and the victim's movements using an iCloud account. When the homeowner left, the attacker smashed a window with a brick and searched the home for the hardware wallet.
The amount of the stolen cryptocurrency has not been disclosed. Prosecutors allege that Ferro used forged documents to open digital payment cards on a geo-restricted platform. The group spent the stolen cryptocurrency on nightclubs, travel, cars, designer watches and clothing, as well as real estate and private jet rentals.
After the arrest of one of the group's members in September 2024, Ferro converted hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency into cash through illegal exchangers and paid for his accomplice's legal fees, the prosecutor's office reported.
Ferro was arrested on May 13, 2025. During searches, law enforcement officers discovered two pistols and a fake ID. In October, he pleaded guilty.
According to US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, from late 2023 to early 2025, Ferro and his accomplices hacked databases, called potential victims, and broke into homes to steal digital assets, as well as launder money. They targeted people who were likely to own large sums of cryptocurrency. When the accomplices failed to deceive their way into accessing the crypto addresses, Ferro, also known as GothFerrari, entered the victims' homes and stole their hardware wallets, according to the indictment. In February 2024, Ferro broke into a Texas home and stole a hardware wallet containing approximately 100 bitcoins worth approximately $5 million, according to prosecutors.
The stolen bitcoins were laundered through cryptocurrency exchanges. According to case documents, in July 2024, Ferro flew to New Mexico, where he spent several days monitoring the home and the victim's movements using an iCloud account. When the homeowner left, the attacker smashed a window with a brick and searched the home for the hardware wallet.
The amount of the stolen cryptocurrency has not been disclosed. Prosecutors allege that Ferro used forged documents to open digital payment cards on a geo-restricted platform. The group spent the stolen cryptocurrency on nightclubs, travel, cars, designer watches and clothing, as well as real estate and private jet rentals.
After the arrest of one of the group's members in September 2024, Ferro converted hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency into cash through illegal exchangers and paid for his accomplice's legal fees, the prosecutor's office reported.
Ferro was arrested on May 13, 2025. During searches, law enforcement officers discovered two pistols and a fake ID. In October, he pleaded guilty.