Party's over for crypto scammers who went wild after $408m bitcoin theft

They pulled off one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in US history, duping a stranger out of bitcoin worth over US$240 million (NZ$408 million). They tried to hide their digital fingerprints, carrying out a sophisticated scheme to launder the proceeds.

And then the party started.

The scammers — a network of young men in their late teens or early 20s — celebrated the August 2024 heist by embarking on a wild spending spree. They purchased fleets of sports cars, flew on private jets, hired security guards and rented mansions in Miami and the Hamptons. An alleged ringleader, 22-year-old Malone Lam, spent over $569,000 (NZ$968,000) n one evening at a Los Angeles night club.

Their bender lasted a month before FBI agents arrested Lam on charges that he organised a "social engineering" attack on the Washington, DC, resident. Lam, an eighth-grade dropout from Singapore, has a plea agreement hearing set for Tuesday. His conviction would be a capstone for the government's investigation.

The charges against Lam and 17 others are an extreme example of an increasingly common form of cybercrime. Complaints of cryptocurrency investment fraud to the FBI rose by nearly 50% in 2025, while Republican President Donald Trump's administration largely abandoned a regulatory crackdown on the volatile industry.