A 22-year-old Singaporean ringleader has pleaded guilty after a social-engineering scam stole more than $245 million in cryptocurrency.
A network of young scammers carried out one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in US history, stealing and laundering more than $245 million, according to US prosecutors.
After the August 2024 theft, the group spent lavishly on exotic cars, private jets, mansions, luxury watches and nightclub parties.
Malone Lam, 22, whom prosecutors described as the ringleader, spent more than $569,000 in a single night at a Los Angeles nightclub. He was arrested in Miami in September 2025 and pleaded guilty on September 8, 2026, to a federal RICO conspiracy charge.
Lam pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of participating in a RICO conspiracy. A status hearing is scheduled for December 8.
Scammers posed as Google and Gemini representatives
One of the group’s biggest thefts occurred on August 18, 2024, when a Washington, DC, cryptocurrency investor received calls from scammers posing as representatives of Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange.
They persuaded the victim to provide access to his Google Drive and disclose security codes. Prosecutors said the information allowed Lam and his associates, Veer Chetal and Jeandiel Serrano, to steal more than 4,100 bitcoin.
The group then used money launderers and multiple cryptocurrency exchanges to move and convert the stolen funds.
Investigators received a major break when Serrano allegedly failed to conceal his IP address while creating an exchange account containing nearly $30 million in stolen cryptocurrency. The address led authorities to an Encino, California, house he was renting for $47,500 a month.
Millions Spent on Cars, Watches and Nightclubs
As investigators worked to trace the cryptocurrency, the group spent lavishly. Authorities said Lam and his friends spent about $4 million at Los Angeles nightclubs in just one month.
Lam allegedly purchased a $2 million watch and more than 30 luxury vehicles, including Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris.
Chetal reportedly gave his parents a Lamborghini and hid $500,000 in cash inside their washing machine.
The sudden wealth also attracted other criminals. A week after the theft, masked attackers kidnapped Chetal’s parents in Connecticut, intending to use them as leverage to obtain his share of the stolen cryptocurrency. Witnesses contacted police, who apprehended the attackers.
Arrests and Guilty Pleas Follow
On Sept. 9, 2024, the FBI searched Chetal’s New Jersey apartment and discovered $37 million in stolen cryptocurrency. Chetal later agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Serrano was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 18 while wearing a watch valued at $500,000. He later admitted possessing about $20 million of the victim’s stolen cryptocurrency, prosecutors said.
Lam was arrested the same day at a Miami mansion.
Eighteen defendants have been charged, and Lam became the 11th to plead guilty on September 8.
Chetal pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in November 2024 and awaits sentencing, while Serrano’s case remains pending. Several co-defendants have already received prison terms, including two money launderers sentenced to roughly six years.
Growing Threat From Crypto Cybercrime
The case highlights growing concern over cryptocurrency-related cybercrime and increasingly sophisticated social-engineering attacks targeting wealthy investors.
Cybersecurity experts warn that young hackers can quickly steal enormous sums by manipulating victims into surrendering account access and security information.
Researcher Allison Nixon has urged authorities to devote more resources to identifying and dismantling such networks, warning that without faster enforcement, similar cryptocurrency thefts are likely to continue spreading.
