Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty to $245M Crypto Theft Through Social Engineering
A 22-year-old Singaporean and recent Miami resident, Malone Lam, has pleaded guilty to participating in a RICO conspiracy tied to the theft and laundering of more than $245 million in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
The case centers on an August 2024 theft of over 4,100 Bitcoin from a Washington-area victim, carried out through impersonation and credential theft rather than a protocol exploit.
Lam faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for his role as ringleader in the international cybercrime conspiracy that used social engineering to steal and launder cryptocurrency valued at more than $245 million.
Prosecutors say Lam and his associates posed as representatives of Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange to manipulate the victim into granting access to their Google Drive and revealing security codes, allowing them to siphon off the Bitcoin holdings in one move.