"Malone Lam," a 22-year-old Singaporean man, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering as the leader of a cryptocurrency theft ring that stole digital assets from multiple victims valued at over $260 million USD, or more than 8.54 billion baht, before spending the money on luxury cars, watches, clothing, private jets, and nightclub outings costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each time.
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty in the U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., to charges of conspiracy to conduct criminal enterprise under the RICO Act, after being accused of leading a major cryptocurrency theft ring that stole over $260 million USD, or more than 8.54 billion baht, in digital funds from multiple victims.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Lam and his accomplices began their criminal activities at least as early as October 2023 and continued until at least May 2025. The suspects, from various U.S. states including California, Connecticut, New York, and Florida, as well as individuals outside the U.S., met and communicated through online gaming platforms.
Prosecutors said Lam, who used online aliases such as "Anne Hathaway," "$$$," and "King Greavy," was the gang leader responsible for identifying targets and coordinating task assignments within the group, focusing attacks on individuals holding large amounts of cryptocurrency.
The gang employed a method called "Social Engineering," which involves deception by gaining trust, by impersonating employees of companies trusted by victims, including Google, to trick victims into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, crypto wallet recovery phrases, and authentication codes. With this information, group members could access digital wallets and transfer cryptocurrencies out.
Court documents reveal that Lam's group occasionally broke into victims' homes to search for information that could help them access crypto wallets and withdraw funds from accounts.
One of the largest thefts occurred in August 2024, when Lam and his accomplices stole over 4,100 bitcoins from a victim in Washington, D.C., worth approximately $230 million USD at that time, before Lam was arrested in September 2024 just weeks after the incident.
After the theft, the suspects attempted to conceal the digital money trails by laundering the stolen cryptocurrencies and converting them into prepaid cards or cash. However, Lam's lavish lifestyle attracted the attention of authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Lam and his group used the stolen funds to purchase several luxury and high-performance cars, some valued up to $3.8 million USD, along with luxury watches costing up to approximately $500,000 each, expensive clothing, Hermès Birkin bags costing tens of thousands of dollars, and rented luxury homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami.
They also spent money renting private jets and hiring personal security teams. Reports indicate Lam and his associates spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at nightclubs, including one occasion where they spent $569,000 USD at a Los Angeles nightclub, and Hermès Birkin bags worth tens of thousands of dollars were thrown to partygoers at nightclub events.
During a nearly two-and-a-half-hour hearing, Lam appeared in a light olive-green prison jumpsuit and white T-shirt, answering court questions multiple times to confirm he understood and accepted the facts as presented by prosecutors. When the judge asked how he pleaded, Lam sighed deeply before replying, "I plead guilty, Your Honor."
Prosecutor Christopher Howland said Lam played multiple roles in the operation, while U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated that anyone building a cybercrime empire will be pursued, dismantled, and held accountable by authorities. She described Lam as the leader of an international crime network that used deception, violated victims' privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
The case involves 18 defendants in total, with Lam being the 11th to plead guilty. This case marks the first time the U.S. Department of Justice has applied the RICO Act to bitcoin-related crimes, with additional charges of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and money laundering.
Lam faces up to 20 years in prison. However, Judge Colleen Collar-Cotelli has not yet set an official sentencing date. Lam is scheduled to return to court on 8 Dec 2025 GMT+7 for a status hearing, where the sentencing date is expected to be set.
Previously, Lam spent several months considering whether to accept a plea deal or proceed to trial. The U.S. government offered a new plea agreement in Nov 2025 GMT+7, and Lam's attorney stated during the May hearing that the case had made significant progress, though no official agreement had been announced at that time.
In addition to imprisonment, Lam and his accomplices have been ordered to repay over $245 million USD to the victims.