Singaporean Crypto Thief Pleads Guilty to $240 Million Heist
Malone Lam, an 22-year-old Singaporean national and eighth-grade dropout, has pleaded guilty to orchestrating one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history.
Lam, along with his friends Veer Chetal and Jeandiel Serrano, targeted a wealthy, longtime Bitcoin investor in Washington, D.C., duping him out of over 4,100 Bitcoin worth more than $240 million.
The scam began on August 18, 2024, when the victim received two phone calls claiming to be from Google and Gemini, respectively, warning him of malware attacks affecting his crypto wallet. Lam and his associates manipulated the victim into giving them access to his Google Drive, revealing security codes that allowed them to siphon off the stolen funds.
Lam's spending spree lasted a month before he was arrested in Miami by FBI agents. An off-duty law enforcement officer had tipped him off about the impending arrest, allowing Lam to evade capture for a short time. During his time on the run, Lam purchased over $2 million worth of luxury items, including a watch and more than 30 cars.
Lam faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years after pleading guilty to a federal racketeering conspiracy charge.