Bitcoin
Key Suspect in $230 Million Bitcoin Theft Pleads Guilty in US Court
A 22-year-old defendant has entered a guilty plea in Washington for orchestrating the theft of 4,100 Bitcoin from a single investor.
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean national, appeared before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington to enter a guilty plea regarding the theft of 4,100 Bitcoin, valued between $230 million and $245 million at the time. Prosecutors described the incident as one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts from an individual prosecuted in the United States, carrying a potential minimum sentence of 14 years under federal guidelines.
According to investigators, the theft took place in August 2024 through social engineering. The victim was contacted by individuals impersonating employees from Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, convincing the investor to transfer the funds to attacker-controlled wallets. Prosecutors identified Lam as the leader of the 18-person "Social Engineering Enterprise," which has been prosecuted under federal racketeering (RICO) laws. Ten members of the group, including accomplice Veer Chetal, have pleaded guilty.
Reports indicated that the stolen funds were quickly disbursed on luxury lifestyle expenditures. Lam reportedly spent more than $569,000 during a single evening at a Los Angeles nightclub, with total nightlife expenditures reaching $4 million within a single month.
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