Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty to Leading $245 Million Bitcoin Theft Ring

A Singaporean man named Malone Lam, 22, pleaded guilty in a Washington D.C. federal court to racketeering conspiracy charges for organizing one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history.

The scheme began in October 2023 when Lam became roommates with two co-conspirators in Texas and started conducting social engineering attacks, paying rent using proceeds from cybercrime.

The group divided labor among database hackers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers, and residential burglars who physically stole hardware cryptocurrency wallets. They used online gaming platforms to recruit members from California, Connecticut, Florida, New York, and overseas.

The single largest theft occurred on August 18, 2024, when two alleged co-conspirators posed as representatives of Google and the Gemini crypto exchange, convincing a Washington D.C. resident to share Google Drive access and security codes, giving the group control of more than 4,100 Bitcoin valued at over $245 million.

Lam used online aliases 'Anne Hathaway,' '$$$,' and 'King Greavy' according to prosecutors. He and his associates moved quickly to convert the stolen Bitcoin, purchasing over 30 vehicles, including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and customized Porsches. Lam personally bought a $2 million watch.

The group rented properties in Miami, Los Angeles, and the Hamptons, traveled by private jet, and used private security. Court records show Lam ran up a single nightclub bill of $569,528.39 at a Los Angeles club in one evening. The Justice Department said nightclub tabs across the group reached as high as $500,000 in a single night.

Lam faces up to 20 years in prison and a status hearing is scheduled for December 8, 2026. He is the 11th of 18 charged defendants to plead guilty in the case.