Mastermind Behind $245M Crypto Heist Finally Pleads Guilty
Malone Lam, 22, has pleaded guilty to masterminding an international crime group that stole 4,100 bitcoins, valued at over $230 million, through hacking, social engineering, and home break-ins. The Miami resident and his accomplices used the stolen funds to finance a luxurious lifestyle, including private jets and lavish parties.
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Miami resident from Singapore, has pleaded guilty to his role as the ringleader of an international crime group responsible for one of the largest bitcoin thefts in history. The group stole 4,100 bitcoins, valued at over $230 million at the time of the theft, to fund an extravagant lifestyle.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lam and his co-conspirators operated from October 2023 through at least May 2025. Their primary methods involved hacking databases to steal cryptocurrency users’ information and employing social engineering tactics to trick victims into revealing user logins and private keys. The total value of stolen Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies amounted to $245 million.
The criminal enterprise also resorted to physical break-ins. In one instance, a co-defendant broke into a residence in New Mexico to steal a hardware wallet while Lam remotely monitored the victim’s movements by hacking their iCloud account. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro condemned Lam's actions, stating, “This defendant led an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.” Pirro further warned, “If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable.”
The DOJ detailed that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) conspiracy leveraged social engineering and occasional home break-ins to gather information necessary to drain victims' cryptocurrency wallets. The indictment revealed that the crimes originated after a group of online gamers formed friendships and subsequently collaborated to commit these cybercrimes.
The stolen bitcoin was laundered and spent lavishly. Lam and his co-defendants indulged in bottle service parties, private jet rentals, security guards, luxury handbags, expensive watches, and properties in exclusive locations such as Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami. They were known to spend up to $500,000 per night on parties and frequently gave away designer handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars. Lam was eventually arrested in 2024 at his rental home in Miami.