Malone Lam, 22, admitted to working with associates to steal the cryptocurrency and launder the proceeds. According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the group spent up to $500,000 per night at nightclubs and purchased exotic cars worth between $100,000 and $3.8 million.
A Singaporean man has pleaded guilty in the US to a racketeering conspiracy charge linked to the theft and laundering of $245 million in bitcoin, in what authorities described as one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts.
Lam faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has not yet scheduled his sentencing hearing.
“If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable,” said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
“This defendant led an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency,” she added.
Lam told US investigators that he left secondary school in Singapore at 14. He travelled to the US in October 2023 and remained there after his visa expired in January 2024. Court documents state that the conspiracy began no later than October 2023 and continued until at least May 2025.
The co-conspirators came from California, Connecticut, New York, Florida and outside the US. They met through online gaming platforms.
The DOJ identified Lam, who also used the names Anne Hathaway, $$$ and King Greavy, as the ringleader. He allegedly identified victims and coordinated the roles of other members.
The group tricked victims into sharing confidential information and sometimes carried out home break-ins to obtain details that enabled them to drain cryptocurrency wallets.
The stolen funds were used on Hermes Birkin handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars, which were reportedly thrown into crowds at nightclub parties. Other spending included watches worth up to $500,000, luxury clothing, rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami, private jet travel and private security teams.
Lam became known in Los Angeles and Miami nightclub circles for his extravagant lifestyle, which also attracted attention from authorities.
The operation was dismantled after FBI agents arrested Lam and a co-conspirator in September 2024.
“As I was listening to the evidence, I could only think of Ferris Bueller gone bad,” US magistrate Alicia Valle said during Lam’s first court appearance, referring to the 1986 film.
In April 2026, co-conspirator Evan Tangeman was sentenced to 70 months in prison for laundering proceeds from the scheme. The DOJ said Tangeman also attempted to destroy evidence following Lam’s arrest, which the court viewed as “consciousness of his guilt”.
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