Gaming Contacts Became a $245 Million Crypto Theft Ring, Leader Pleads Guilty

In Brief

• Malone Lam pleaded guilty to a RICO conspiracy behind a $245 million crypto theft.
• The crew used deception and home break-ins, not wallet code, to steal.
• Stolen funds bought $3.8 million cars, private jets and Hamptons rentals.

Malone Lam pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a racketeering conspiracy that drained more than $245 million in cryptocurrency.

The 22-year-old Singaporean citizen led a group that talked its way past people rather than past software. Prosecutors say the enterprise ran from October 2023 through at least May 2025.

Malone Lam Guilty Plea Caps a Two-Year Theft Spree

According to the court documents, Lam was the ringleader of the international cybercrime conspiracy. He organized the enterprise, identified the targets, and coordinated the roles of the other conspirators. Lam used the aliases “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$” and “King Greavy.”

The scheme was developed through connections made on online gaming platforms. Its members operated from California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and abroad.

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The group used social engineering and occasionally broke into homes to obtain the information that let it drain victims’ wallets.

The case began with a September 2024 indictment over 4,100 Bitcoin (BTC) taken from a single Washington D.C. victim. Investigators later folded the theft into a wider $263 million ring. One launderer in that crew drew a 70-month prison sentence in April.