Singaporean Citizen Pleads Guilty to Leading $245M Cryptocurrency Theft Scheme
A 22-year-old Singaporean citizen, Malone Lam, has pleaded guilty to leading a scheme that stole over $245 million in cryptocurrency from victims across the United States between 2023 and 2025.
Lam was charged with participating in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy as part of an international cybercrime network that targeted cryptocurrency holders through deception and social engineering.
The group, which operated across multiple states including California, Connecticut, New York, and Florida, as well as from locations abroad, used online gaming platforms to coordinate their activities.
Lam organized the network and assigned roles such as hacking, victim identification, cold calling, and laundering the stolen funds. The group reportedly laundered cryptocurrency into cash used to finance a lavish lifestyle.