Ringleader of $245 Million Cryptocurrency Theft Pleads Guilty
Key Takeaways
- •Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean residing in Miami, pleaded guilty to leading an international criminal group that stole approximately $245 million in cryptocurrency.
- •The theft included 4,100 bitcoins worth more than $230 million at the time of the crime.
- •Between October 2023 and at least May 2025, the conspirators hacked databases and used deception to obtain victims' login credentials and private keys.
- •The operation combined cyber tactics with physical intrusions, including a New Mexico break-in in which a hardware wallet was stolen while Lam monitored the victim through a hacked iCloud account.
- •The stolen proceeds were laundered through extravagant spending, with parties costing up to $500,000 per night, private-jet rentals, luxury goods, and properties in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami.
Malone Lam, 22, a Miami resident from Singapore, pleaded guilty Tuesday to leading an international crime group that stole 4,100 bitcoins, worth more than $230 million at the time, as part of a $245 million cryptocurrency theft.
The U.S. Department of Justice said that from October 2023 through at least May 2025, Lam and his co-defendants hacked databases to obtain cryptocurrency users’ information and deceived victims into providing login credentials and private keys. The group stole bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth approximately $245 million.
The alleged thefts combined digital compromise with physical intrusion. In one incident, a co-defendant entered a residence in New Mexico and stole a hardware wallet while Lam monitored the victim’s movements by hacking the victim’s iCloud account.
“This defendant led an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in a statement.
“If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable,” Pirro added.
The DOJ said the case involved a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act conspiracy that “used social engineering and occasional home break-ins to obtain information that allowed the conspirators to drain their victims’ cryptocurrency wallets.”
According to the indictment, the crimes began after a group of online gamers became friends and later worked together to carry out the cybercrimes.
Lam and his co-defendants laundered the stolen bitcoin and spent the proceeds on bottle-service parties, private-jet rentals, security guards, luxury handbags and watches, and properties in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami. The defendants spent as much as $500,000 per night on parties and gave away designer handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
Lam was arrested in 2024 at his rental home in Miami.
The case was reported by Bitcoin Magazine. The U.S. Department of Justice announcement is available here.
