SINGAPORE: For more than a year, Singaporean Malone Lam was purportedly the head of a crime ring in the US that stole more than US$263 million in cryptocurrency, laundering the money and breaking into homes.
The 20-year-old, who goes by several monikers online, has already been charged with conducting one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts of an individual in the US.
On Monday (May 19), he was accused of orchestrating a wider scheme involving at least 12 other individuals.
Here’s what we know about the case and what Lam is accused of.
According to court documents, Lam and at least 12 other individuals were part of a crime ring described by US prosecutors as a "social engineering enterprise".
Lam was allegedly central to the scheme and named in the indictment as one of its two organisers, alongside a man named Conor Flansburg.
The other suspects are Marlon Ferro, Hamza Doost, Kunal Mehta, Ethan Yarally, Cody Demirtas, Aakaash Anand, Evan Tangeman, Joel Cortes, Tucker Desmond and two members named Fnu Lnu 1 and 2.
Almost all of them had online nicknames. Lam had several, including “$$$”, “King Greavys” and “Anne Hathaway”.
Lam's crimes came to light when he was arrested by the FBI in September last year for allegedly working with another man, Jeandiel Serrano, to steal over US$230 million worth of Bitcoin from a victim in Washington.
Serrano was not named in the latest indictment.
In the latest case, the defendants face charges that include racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
It was also revealed that Lam had rejected a recent plea deal after reviewing it with his lawyers.
Born largely from friendships made on online gaming platforms, the criminal syndicate operated between October 2023 and March 2025. These friendships evolved into agreements to commit crypto thefts in the US and abroad.
Each member had designated roles: database hackers, organisers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers and burglars.
Organisers and target identifiers – Lam's and Flansburg's roles – were responsible for collating information across databases to determine the most valuable targets.
After identifying these targets, other members made fake "support" calls to the victims, claiming to be employees from major virtual currency exchanges or email providers.
Database hackers would push unauthorised notifications to the victims to make the scam calls seem more legitimate.
During the calls, victims would be tricked into providing personal information, such as passwords to email accounts and cloud storage, master keys to crypto accounts and other login details.
If the group discovered "substantial virtual currency holdings" on physical devices, it would break into homes to get the physical hardware wallets.
In one such break-in, a member of the group travelled to New Mexico in July 2024 and broke into a home while Lam monitored the victim's location by logging into his iCloud account.
The stolen cryptocurrency would be laundered through offshore virtual currency exchanges and converted. After that, it is sent to other members of the crime ring, who exchanged the crypto funds for cash and wire transfers.
The gang’s members and associates covered their tracks by placing their homes and cars under the names of straw owners or shell companies.
Straw owners, or signers, are people who agree to hold the title of another's car or home for a fee.
In one case, Lam had requested to tour a home before paying the full US$3 million.
But he was told it was not a good idea because the realtor had placed the home under the name of a 55-year-old living at the residence with his family, in an effort to conceal Lam's payment and ownership of the home.
In another message between two members, in which one explained how he disguises and conceals the true owners of exotic car purchases, he said: "Our goal is to cover our tracks in a way that if anything comes back ever, we are covered and have no stress."
The court was also told how a "squishmallow" stuffed toy filled with US$50,000 in cash was shipped between members.
The group communicated on Telegram and Signal, regularly updating their accounts for security.
Its members also received information from off-duty law enforcement officers. In September 2024, one such officer informed a money exchanger that federal law agencies were investigating members of the crime ring.
The same month, Lam "obtained information" about the investigation from an off-duty law enforcement officer, and that authorities were on their way to arrest him.
This prompted him to go to the rear of his Miami rental home, where he dropped his mobile phone off the boat dock and into Biscayne Bay to destroy incriminating evidence.
The members of the crime ring lived the high life – renting luxury homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami, as well as using private jets and hiring a team of private security guards.
They racked up nightclub bills of more than US$500,000 a night, bought branded handbags to give away at parties, and wore luxury clothes and watches.
The group also bought guns to protect themselves from rival cybercrime gangs.
At least 28 cars are set to be forfeited in the case – worth between US$100,000 and US$3.8 million. They include seven Lamborghinis, four Porsches, three Rolls-Royces and three Ferraris.
More than 90 items are also on the list, including several Louis Vuitton pillows and multiple pairs of luxury shoes.
Even behind bars, Lam was still in contact with other members of the crime ring. He gave instructions to these members to buy multiple Hermes Birkin purses and deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami.
According to the indictment, one member used the stolen funds to "fund Lam's defence team".
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The 20-year-old, who goes by several monikers online, has already been charged with conducting one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts of an individual in the US.
On Monday (May 19), he was accused of orchestrating a wider scheme involving at least 12 other individuals.
Here’s what we know about the case and what Lam is accused of.
THE CRIME RING
According to court documents, Lam and at least 12 other individuals were part of a crime ring described by US prosecutors as a "social engineering enterprise".
Lam was allegedly central to the scheme and named in the indictment as one of its two organisers, alongside a man named Conor Flansburg.
The other suspects are Marlon Ferro, Hamza Doost, Kunal Mehta, Ethan Yarally, Cody Demirtas, Aakaash Anand, Evan Tangeman, Joel Cortes, Tucker Desmond and two members named Fnu Lnu 1 and 2.
Almost all of them had online nicknames. Lam had several, including “$$$”, “King Greavys” and “Anne Hathaway”.
Lam's crimes came to light when he was arrested by the FBI in September last year for allegedly working with another man, Jeandiel Serrano, to steal over US$230 million worth of Bitcoin from a victim in Washington.
Serrano was not named in the latest indictment.
In the latest case, the defendants face charges that include racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
It was also revealed that Lam had rejected a recent plea deal after reviewing it with his lawyers.
Related:
CRIME RING OPERATIONS
Born largely from friendships made on online gaming platforms, the criminal syndicate operated between October 2023 and March 2025. These friendships evolved into agreements to commit crypto thefts in the US and abroad.
Each member had designated roles: database hackers, organisers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers and burglars.
Organisers and target identifiers – Lam's and Flansburg's roles – were responsible for collating information across databases to determine the most valuable targets.
After identifying these targets, other members made fake "support" calls to the victims, claiming to be employees from major virtual currency exchanges or email providers.
Database hackers would push unauthorised notifications to the victims to make the scam calls seem more legitimate.
During the calls, victims would be tricked into providing personal information, such as passwords to email accounts and cloud storage, master keys to crypto accounts and other login details.
If the group discovered "substantial virtual currency holdings" on physical devices, it would break into homes to get the physical hardware wallets.
In one such break-in, a member of the group travelled to New Mexico in July 2024 and broke into a home while Lam monitored the victim's location by logging into his iCloud account.
The stolen cryptocurrency would be laundered through offshore virtual currency exchanges and converted. After that, it is sent to other members of the crime ring, who exchanged the crypto funds for cash and wire transfers.
COVERING THEIR TRACKS
The gang’s members and associates covered their tracks by placing their homes and cars under the names of straw owners or shell companies.
Straw owners, or signers, are people who agree to hold the title of another's car or home for a fee.
In one case, Lam had requested to tour a home before paying the full US$3 million.
But he was told it was not a good idea because the realtor had placed the home under the name of a 55-year-old living at the residence with his family, in an effort to conceal Lam's payment and ownership of the home.
In another message between two members, in which one explained how he disguises and conceals the true owners of exotic car purchases, he said: "Our goal is to cover our tracks in a way that if anything comes back ever, we are covered and have no stress."
The court was also told how a "squishmallow" stuffed toy filled with US$50,000 in cash was shipped between members.
The group communicated on Telegram and Signal, regularly updating their accounts for security.
Its members also received information from off-duty law enforcement officers. In September 2024, one such officer informed a money exchanger that federal law agencies were investigating members of the crime ring.
The same month, Lam "obtained information" about the investigation from an off-duty law enforcement officer, and that authorities were on their way to arrest him.
This prompted him to go to the rear of his Miami rental home, where he dropped his mobile phone off the boat dock and into Biscayne Bay to destroy incriminating evidence.
HOW DID THEY SPEND THE MONEY?
The members of the crime ring lived the high life – renting luxury homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami, as well as using private jets and hiring a team of private security guards.
They racked up nightclub bills of more than US$500,000 a night, bought branded handbags to give away at parties, and wore luxury clothes and watches.
The group also bought guns to protect themselves from rival cybercrime gangs.
At least 28 cars are set to be forfeited in the case – worth between US$100,000 and US$3.8 million. They include seven Lamborghinis, four Porsches, three Rolls-Royces and three Ferraris.
More than 90 items are also on the list, including several Louis Vuitton pillows and multiple pairs of luxury shoes.
Even behind bars, Lam was still in contact with other members of the crime ring. He gave instructions to these members to buy multiple Hermes Birkin purses and deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami.
According to the indictment, one member used the stolen funds to "fund Lam's defence team".
Continue reading...