Malone Lam Faces Plea Hearing Over $245M Bitcoin Theft
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean accused of helping organize a crew that stole $245 million in Bitcoin from one investor, is set for a federal plea hearing in Washington. Prosecutors say the 18-member group, called the Social Engineering Enterprise, used hacked crypto databases, impersonated support staff from Google and Gemini, tricked victims into installing remote access software, and stole security codes to drain wallets. The operation grew out of online gaming friendships and included hackers, callers, and launderers; in some cases, members allegedly traveled to homes and broke in if funds were stored on hardware wallets. The stolen crypto was laundered through Monero and peel chains, with cash later moved in bulk. Lam allegedly spent millions on nightclubs and luxury cars. Ten defendants have pleaded guilty, and a judge has stressed that youth does not excuse the crimes.
