Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singapore citizen, pleaded guilty in Washington to participating in a racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors stated that Lam led an international enterprise that stole and laundered more than $245 million in cryptocurrency.
According to prosecutors, the network operated from at least October 2023 through May 2025, involving participants across multiple US states and overseas. The group targeted crypto holders using social engineering and home break-ins to obtain the credentials required to drain digital wallets. Lam, who utilized online aliases including “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$,” and “King Greavy,” selected targets and coordinated roles for the network, which originated from relationships formed on online gaming platforms.
The scale of the operation gained widespread attention following the theft of more than 4,100 Bitcoin from a single victim in Washington, D.C. On Aug. 18, 2024, conspirators posed as Google and Gemini support representatives to gain the victim's trust and obtain remote computer access. This exposure allowed the group to access private keys and move the funds. At the time of the theft, the coins were valued at more than $230 million.
Prosecutors detailed how the stolen funds were laundered using exchanges, mixing services, peel chains, pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks to conceal identities. The proceeds bankrolled an extravagant lifestyle for the participants, including spending up to $500,000 in a single nightclub evening, luxury handbags given away at parties, watches valued between $100,000 and over $500,000, private-jet rentals, high-end homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami, and exotic cars worth up to $3.8 million.
Law enforcement arrested Lam in September 2025 at a rented home in Miami. His guilty plea to one RICO conspiracy count marks a formal admission of criminal participation, while cases against other alleged members of the enterprise remain ongoing.
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled Lam's next status hearing for Dec. 8. The upcoming proceeding is not a sentencing hearing, leaving the final punishment for his conviction unresolved as the investigation continues.
