On Sept. 8, 22-year-old Malone Lam pleaded guilty to being part of one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history.
In 2023, Lam organized a network of young men to carry out cryptocurrency scams. In 2024, the group conned a Washington, D.C., resident out of $245 million worth of Bitcoin. Lam’s associates posed as representatives from the Google and Gemini crypto exchange. They convinced the resident to share with them a Google Drive containing security codes that Lam then used to steal over 4,000 Bitcoin.
Lam was also involved with turning the laundered Bitcoin into cash. Once the crypto was converted into cash, Lam went on a wild spending spree. He bought more than 30 sports cars, including custom Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris. He rented mansions in Miami and spent millions at nightclubs. According to officials Lam spent $569,000 in a single night at a club in Los Angeles. Lam’s spending spree lasted a month before federal agents tracked him down and arrested him in Miami.
Lam is one of the 18 defendants facing federal racketeering conspiracy charges. He is the 11th to plead guilty. He could receive a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the U.S. District judge in charge of the case, did not immediately schedule Lam’s sentencing hearing. While in jail, Lam called members of his racketeering network on a record line. He was heard saying that he never thought the backlash of his actions would be “this crazy.”
