Scammer behind $245 million crypto heist pleads guilty to RICO charges

A Singaporean national pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on Tuesday for his role leading a group of scammers who stole more than $245 million in cryptocurrency. 

Malone Lam, 22, will appear in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. on December 8 for more information on sentencing. Participating in a RICO conspiracy charges carry sentences ranging from 7 to 20 years. 

Lam was indicted on scamming charges in September 2024 after drawing law enforcement scrutiny for parlaying stolen crypto into lavish Hamptons vacations, cars and private jets. Prosecutors said Lam, known as “Anne Hathaway,” or “$$$,” ran an operation where he and others would conduct social engineering scams to steal cryptocurrency. 

In several incidents, members called crypto holders pretending to be customer service or representatives from Apple and Google, eventually convincing them to hand over key account details that enabled crypto thefts. 

The group gained access to databases of information about people with large amounts of cryptocurrency and either scammed them into providing access to their funds or broke into their homes to physically steal devices.

Members of the group were previously charged with stealing more than $263 million worth of cryptocurrency from one victim in Washington, D.C.