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22-year-old pleads guilty in $245 million crypto theft
The Indian Express··11 Sept
Malone Lam, 22, pleaded guilty on September 8, 2026, to a federal RICO conspiracy charge over a cryptocurrency theft valued at more than $245 million. US prosecutors called it one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in US history. After an August 2024 theft, the group spent on cars, jets and nightclubs. Lam was arrested in Miami in September 2025.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Prosecutors say scammers posed as Google and Gemini representatives to obtain Drive access and security codes from a Washington, DC, investor.
- That access allegedly let Lam and associates steal more than 4,100 bitcoin on August 18, 2024.
- A status hearing in Lam's case is scheduled for December 8.
What's Happening
- Lam, a Singapore citizen and recent Miami resident, pleaded guilty to one RICO conspiracy count after his September 2025 arrest.
- Prosecutors said he spent more than $569,000 in a single night at a Los Angeles nightclub.
- Associates named include Veer Chetal and Jeandiel Serrano, who allegedly helped move and convert stolen funds.
How Investigators Got A Break
- Investigators got a break when Serrano allegedly failed to conceal his IP address while creating an exchange account holding nearly $30 million in stolen cryptocurrency.
- The address led authorities to an Encino, California, house he was renting for $47,500 a month.
- The group used money launderers and multiple cryptocurrency exchanges to move the stolen funds, prosecutors said.
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