22-Year-Old Accused of Stealing Over $230M in Bitcoin

Malone Lam, 22, will appear in a Washington, D.C. federal court for a plea hearing related to the theft of over 4,100 Bitcoin valued at $230 million.

Lam allegedly led a group that used social engineering tactics to impersonate Google and Gemini representatives, tricking a victim into giving account access.

This is the first Bitcoin-related case prosecuted under the RICO Act, with charges including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Authorities have recovered about $70 million, but $193 million remains missing, highlighting challenges in tracing stolen cryptocurrency.