Party’s over for crypto scammers who went on a spending spree after a $240 million bitcoin theft
- On Tuesday, alleged ringleader Malone Lam, a 22-year-old eighth-grade dropout from Singapore, faces a plea agreement hearing in connection with orchestrating a $240 million cryptocurrency theft, one of the largest in U.S. history.
- Callers impersonating Google and Gemini representatives manipulated a Washington resident on August 18, 2024, into revealing security codes for his Google Drive, allowing Lam to siphon over 4,100 bitcoin. The network, formed through online gaming forums, had executed similar multimillion-dollar thefts since late 2023.
- Lam spent over $569,000 in one evening at a Los Angeles nightclub and purchased a $2 million watch and over 30 luxury vehicles using stolen cryptocurrency. U.S. Magistrate Alicia Valle expressed astonishment, remarking "I could only think of Ferris Bueller gone bad."
- FBI agents arrested co-conspirators Jeandiel Serrano at Los Angeles International Airport on September 18, 2024, and Veer Chetal in Brunswick, New Jersey, recovering roughly $20 million and $37 million in stolen crypto respectively. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has sentenced three associates to approximately six years each.
- The charges against Lam and 17 others exemplify an increasingly common form of cybercrime, as complaints of cryptocurrency fraud to the FBI rose nearly 50% in 2025 while the Justice Department disbanded its dedicated crypto prosecution unit. Cybersecurity researcher Allison Nixon advocates for more law enforcement resources to counter The Com subculture.
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97 Articles
South China Morning Post
PressNewsAgencySingapore man pleads guilty after massive US bitcoin heist and spending spree
A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to teaming up with friends to steal nearly a quarter-billion dollars in bitcoin from a Washington resident – one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in US history – and then embarking on a wild spending spree with the laundered proceeds. Malone Lam, an eighth-grade dropout who came to the US from Singapore, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years after pleading guilty to a federal racketeering con…
22-YEAR-OLD Singaporean Malone Lam has pleaded guilty to participating in the theft of nearly $240 million worth of bitcoin.
Ottumwa Courier
Singapore man pleads guilty to orchestrating $240 million bitcoin theft from DC resident
A 22-year-old man from Singapore has pleaded guilty to teaming up with friends to steal nearly a quarter-billion dollars in bitcoin from a Washington, D.C., resident and then embarking on a wild spending spree with the laundered proceeds. Malone Lam…
8th-grade dropout accused of blowing $240M Bitcoin haul on Ferraris and $4M club nights
Malone Lam, 22, from Singapore, is set to plead guilty in a $240M Bitcoin heist, one of the largest crypto thefts in US history. Lam and his crew allegedly used “social engineering” to trick a crypto investor into handing over access to 4,100 Bitcoin. After the heist, Lam allegedly blew $4M at LA nightclubs, bought a $2M watch, and over 30 luxury vehicles.
Cryptocurrency scam ringleader pleads guilty to defrauding victims of $250 million
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old from Singapore, worked with conspirators who posed as tech employees to convince victims to grant them access to their cryptocurrency funds, which then funded their lavish lifestyle.
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