Crypto Ringleader Pleads Guilty in $245 Million Theft

Singaporean citizen Malone Lam, 22, pleaded guilty in federal court to leading an international RICO conspiracy that stole and laundered more than $245 million in cryptocurrency between October 2023 and May 2025. The group used social engineering, impersonated companies such as Google and Gemini, compromised accounts, and sometimes broke into victims’ homes to obtain wallet credentials and private keys; its largest theft involved more than 4,100 bitcoin taken from one victim in August 2024. Investigators traced the operation through digital and financial evidence, including an associate’s failure to hide his IP address while managing nearly $30 million in stolen funds. Prosecutors say Lam and his associates spent lavishly on mansions, private jets, luxury cars, watches, handbags, and nightclub parties costing as much as $500,000 per night. Lam faces up to 20 years in prison and agreed to restitution and a forfeiture judgment of approximately $245.1 million, with sentencing to be determined by the court.