22-Year-Old Defendant Pleads Guilty in $245 Million Crypto Theft Case

22-year-old Malone Lam pleaded guilty in a case where prosecutors allege that more than $245 million in cryptocurrency was stolen and laundered.

Lam, a Singaporean citizen living in Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of federal racketeering conspiracy in a U.S. court. Prosecutors state that Lam was one of the leaders of an operation that targeted victims and seized their cryptocurrency.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Lam identified victims and coordinated the duties of other defendants in a scheme carried out through social engineering methods. Prosecutors revealed that Lam used the aliases “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$,” and “King Greavy.”

New stage in the $245 million crypto case

Lam and other defendants are alleged to have stolen and laundered more than $245 million in cryptocurrency. Lam and his co-conspirator, Jeandiel Serrano, were charged in 2024. Evan Tangeman, another 22-year-old involved in the case, was sentenced to more than five years in prison in April.

Prosecutors said the allegedly stolen money was spent on luxury nightclub services, bags and watches, and rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami. It was noted that the defendants also purchased luxury vehicles ranging in price from $100,000 to $3.8 million. Nightclub expenditures reportedly approached $500,000 on some nights.

Lam faces up to 20 years in prison for the crime he admitted to. A status hearing for the next phase of the case is scheduled for December 8.