Singaporean National Pleads Guilty to $245M Crypto Theft Conspiracy
Singaporean national Malone Lam has pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy that US prosecutors say used social engineering and home break-ins to steal and launder more than $245 million in cryptocurrency.
The operation, which was formed through connections on online gaming platforms, identified prospective victims and coordinated other conspirators. The enterprise operated from at least October 2023 through May 2025, according to court documents.
Lam's plea establishes criminal responsibility nearly two years after he was charged over the theft of more than 4,100 Bitcoin, worth over $230 million at the time, from a Washington, DC resident. He pleaded guilty before US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to one count of participating in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy.
The case began with the theft of 4,100 Bitcoin from a single victim on August 18, 2024. Prosecutors alleged that Lam and his co-conspirators posed as Google support staff to compromise the victim's accounts before impersonating Gemini support to persuade the victim to reset two-factor authentication.