Crypto theft ringleader Malone Lam set to appear in court over $230 million Bitcoin theft

Malone Lam, the 22-year-old alleged ringleader of a criminal enterprise accused of swiping more than 4,100 Bitcoin from one person, is scheduled to appear in a Washington, D.C. federal court on Tuesday for a plea agreement hearing. The stolen haul was valued at over $230 million at the time of the theft.

The theft itself happened on or around August 18, 2024. Lam and his co-defendants allegedly posed as representatives from Google and Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange, using social engineering to trick the victim into granting remote access to their accounts.

The criminal enterprise reportedly operated between October 2023 and March 2025, racking up total thefts exceeding $263 million across multiple incidents. Beyond the headline-grabbing Bitcoin heist, the group allegedly engaged in home burglaries and other crimes.

The FBI arrested Lam on September 18, 2024, roughly a month after the primary theft. According to the case filings, he allegedly threw his phone into Biscayne Bay after learning about his impending arrest.

Federal prosecutors have charged Lam and 17 co-defendants under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO. This marks the first time RICO has been applied to a Bitcoin-related criminal enterprise. The charges include racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and several other offenses. For Lam, each count carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.