Alleged cryptoscam ringleader set for plea hearing in $240M bitcoin theft

A 22-year-old Singapore man accused of helping steal more than $240 million in Bitcoin from a single victim and splurging the proceeds on luxury cars, private jets, mansions and wild nights out is expected to plead guilty this week in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history.

Malone Lam, an eighth-grade dropout from Singapore whom prosecutors have identified as a suspected ringleader of the sprawling cryptocurrency scheme, is scheduled for a plea agreement hearing Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Lam and his alleged co-conspirators were part of an alleged network of young men in their late teens and early 20s who prosecutors say used a sophisticated "social engineering" attack in August 2024 to trick a wealthy, longtime cryptocurrency investor into handing over access to his digital holdings.

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According to prosecutors, members of the group contacted the victim while posing as representatives of Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, warning him that his accounts had been compromised.

The scammers allegedly convinced the victim to give them access to his Google Drive and provide security codes that allowed Lam and others to siphon off more than 4,100 Bitcoin, then worth over $240 million.

The group allegedly moved the stolen cryptocurrency through multiple exchange platforms and used money laundering specialists to convert portions of it into cash.

Prosecutors say Lam and his associates then embarked on a staggering spending spree.

Lam and his friends allegedly spent $4 million at Los Angeles nightclubs in roughly a month, including more than $569,000 that Lam allegedly spent during a single night out. He also allegedly used stolen cryptocurrency to purchase a $2 million watch and more than 30 vehicles, including custom Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

The group also rented multimillion-dollar homes, flew on private jets and hired private security.

The alleged spending was so lavish that the judge overseeing Lam's initial court appearance in Miami invoked a famous Hollywood troublemaker after hearing a prosecutor describe it.

"I could only think of Ferris Bueller gone bad," U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle said, referring to the school-skipping protagonist of the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

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The lavish lifestyle quickly attracted attention as investigators closed in.

One alleged co-conspirator, Jeandiel Serrano, failed to conceal his IP address while creating an account on a cryptocurrency exchange that held nearly $30 million in stolen funds, prosecutors said. Investigators traced the address to an Encino, California, home Serrano was renting for $47,500 per month.

Serrano and Lam were arrested separately on Sept. 18, 2024. FBI agents took Serrano into custody at Los Angeles International Airport, where authorities said he was wearing a watch worth roughly $500,000.

Lam was arrested the same day at a Miami mansion.

Eighteen defendants have been charged in connection with the case, with ten already pleading guilty.

At Lam's initial court appearance, a prosecutor estimated that federal sentencing guidelines could call for a prison term of at least 14 years if he is convicted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.