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Malone Lam pleads guilty in nearly $250 million US bitcoin theft case
Prosecutors said Lam helped launder proceeds from the 2023 scam, including more than 4,100 bitcoin siphoned after victims were tricked via social engineering.
A 22-year-old man, Malone Lam, pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering conspiracy charge for his role in a scheme that prosecutors say stole nearly a quarter-billion dollars in bitcoin from a Washington resident, one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in US history, according to the SCMP Economy outlet.
Lam, who came to the United States from Singapore and is described as an eighth-grade dropout, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. A US District Judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, did not immediately set a sentencing date in Washington.
Prosecutors said the theft involved social engineering tactics used in August 2024 to dupe the victim out of more than US$245 million in bitcoin. Two alleged co-conspirators posed as representatives of Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange to manipulate the victim into granting access to his Google Drive and sharing security codes that allowed Lam to siphon off over 4,100 bitcoin.
The DOJ investigation was cited as ongoing, with Lam among 18 charged defendants and the 11th to plead guilty, a milestone described as a breakthrough. Authorities said Lam helped launder and convert the stolen cryptocurrency into cash used for purchases including a fleet of sports cars, renting mansions in Miami, and spending millions at nightclubs, including US$569,000 in one evening at a Los Angeles club.
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