Singaporean Fled to Texas, Convicted in $309m Crypto Heist
Singaporean Malone Lam was just 19 when he fled to Texas in October 2023 to live with online gaming friends. Within a month, they hatched a plan to steal cryptocurrency by impersonating tech support teams at major companies like Google and Coinbase.
Lam used his knowledge of computer software to obtain breached databases containing cryptocurrency-related information and lists of high-net-worth individuals. The group then targeted these individuals, triggering 'account access attempt' notifications to make them think there were unauthorised attempts to access their accounts.
The gang convinced the targets to provide personal account information by pretending to be security technicians, gaining access to digital currency wallets or passwords before stealing the cryptocurrency. On September 9, Lam pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to his role as a ringleader in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts.
The group's biggest haul came in August 2024 when they stole $245 million from R.W., who was identified only by his initials. Lam and his associates sent Google account access attempt notifications, then claimed to be a Google representative following up on unauthorised attempts. They convinced R.W. to provide the private keys to a portion of his digital currency holdings.
Lam faces a maximum jail sentence of 20 years after pleading guilty. At least 28 luxury vehicles have been seized from him, including several Lamborghinis and Ferraris, as well as 95 pieces of jewellery and luxury watches worth upwards of $500,000 each.