Malone Lam, the Singaporean accused of organizing one of the largest single-victim cryptocurrency thefts prosecuted in the United States, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea in Washington fed
Malone Lam, the Singaporean accused of organizing one of the largest single-victim cryptocurrency thefts prosecuted in the United States, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea in Washington federal court on September 8.
Lam and other members of the group fraudulently obtained more than 4,100 BTC from a Washington, D.C. investor on August 18, 2024. Federal prosecutors later valued the Bitcoin at approximately $263 million at the time of the theft.
The 22-year-old, known online through aliases including “King Greavys,” “$$$” and “Anne Hathaway,” has been held since his September 2024 arrest.
The theft relied on social engineering rather than a blockchain or exchange vulnerability.
Members of the group contacted the victim while impersonating Google and Gemini support personnel, convincing him that his accounts were under attack. The operation ultimately obtained access to his Google Drive and security credentials before the Bitcoin was transferred out.
The wider racketeering case grew from an online network that assigned specialized roles to database hackers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers and organizers. Stolen cryptocurrency moved through exchanges, mixers, pass-through wallets and peel chains before portions were converted into cash.
The attack method remains active across crypto. Two defendants in a separate support impersonation scheme pleaded guilty this year after fake support calls helped obtain access to cryptocurrency worth about $13 million.
The group turned part of the stolen cryptocurrency into an unusually visible luxury-spending operation.
Enterprise members rented mansions in Los Angeles, Miami and the Hamptons, chartered private jets and acquired a fleet of exotic vehicles valued as high as $3.8 million each. Luxury watches, designer clothing and nightclub spending consumed millions more.
Lam personally spent more than $569,000 during one Los Angeles nightclub visit after the August theft. Other members bought nightclub packages approaching $500,000 per evening and watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The same Bitcoin theft later spilled into physical crime. Adam Iza pleaded guilty in a case tied to an attempted robbery and kidnapping targeting relatives of an individual connected to the stolen BTC. Three additional men were later charged over another robbery plot involving the same underlying fortune.
Multiple members of the enterprise have already pleaded guilty to racketeering, fraud or money-laundering charges.
Evan Tangeman received 70 months in federal prison in April after admitting that he helped launder at least $3.5 million for the organization. He also obtained luxury properties for the group and directed another member to destroy digital devices after Lam’s arrest.
Lam’s plea-agreement hearing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on September 8, nearly two years after the 4,100 BTC theft that became the center of the federal racketeering prosecution.
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