Malone Lam pleads guilty in $245M crypto theft conspiracy
Singaporean national Malone Lam pleaded guilty in US federal court to participating in a RICO conspiracy tied to an international crypto theft and laundering network. Prosecutors say he organized the operation, selected victims, and coordinated co-conspirators recruited through online gaming platforms. The scheme allegedly used social engineering and home break-ins to steal and launder more than $245 million in cryptocurrency between October 2023 and May 2025. Lam’s plea comes nearly two years after he was first charged in connection with the theft of more than 4,100 Bitcoin from a Washington, DC victim. Prosecutors originally said he and Jeandiel Serrano posed as Google and Gemini support to trick the victim into exposing private keys, then laundered the funds through mixers, exchanges, wallets, and VPNs. A later superseding indictment expanded the case to 12 more defendants and more than $263 million in alleged crypto thefts, including a separate $14 million theft and a break-in targeting a hardware wallet. Lam’s sentencing date has not yet been set.
