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Kunal Mehta Pleads Guilty in RICO Case Tied to $263 Million Crypto Theft

Prosecutors describe a youth-led social engineering ring that converted stolen coins into cash through shell firms.

Overview

  • Mehta, 45, admitted laundering at least $25 million and offering crypto-to-cash and crypto-to-wire services for a 10% fee.
  • He created shell companies, titled exotic cars to those entities, recruited straw signers, and hand-delivered roughly $500,000 in cash.
  • Court filings say the enterprise grew from online gaming relationships and operated from before October 2023 through at least March 2025.
  • An August 18, 2024 incident allegedly yielded over 4,100 BTC, valued then at about $263 million and reported this week as more than $384.5 million.
  • He is the eighth defendant to plead guilty, has waived most appeal rights, and awaits sentencing with potential exposure reported as up to 14 years.