Singapore man pleads guilty in $245M bitcoin heist — SkimNews
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- Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singapore-born eighth-grade dropout, pleaded guilty to federal racketeering conspiracy and faces up to 20 years in prison for the bitcoin theft from a Washington, D.C., resident
- The August 2024 scheme had Lam and co-conspirators pose as Google and Gemini crypto exchange reps to dupe the victim into sharing Google Drive access and security codes, allowing them to siphon over 4,100 bitcoin worth more than $245 million
- The Justice Department has charged 18 defendants in the broader case, with Lam's plea making him the 11th defendant to plead guilty in what prosecutors call a network of young crypto scammers active since 2023
- Lam's month-long spending spree included more than 30 luxury cars (Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris), a $2 million watch, rented Miami mansions, and $569,000 at a single Los Angeles nightclub in one night
- The FBI arrested Lam in Miami after an off-duty law enforcement officer tipped him off that authorities were closing in, according to the indictment
- Lam told associates from a recorded jailhouse call: "We always talked about what it would be like if I were to go down, but never thought it would be this crazy"
Why it matters: The case exposes how social-engineering attacks impersonating household tech brands — Google, the Gemini exchange — can drain nine-figure crypto holdings from a single victim, even before any code is broken. With Lam as the 11th of 18 defendants to plead guilty, the DOJ is methodically dismantling an organized network of young scammers who converted stolen bitcoin into fleets of supercars, mansions, and club tabs.
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