WASHINGTON: US authorities have charged Singaporean Malone Lam with heading up a 13-member crime ring that allegedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency.
The 20-year-old has already been charged with stealing cryptocurrency worth US$230 million from one victim in Washington DC.
In a new indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that he orchestrated a wider scheme with a dozen other individuals.
This included hiding money inside "squishmallow" stuffed animals and shipping them across the US to pay the gang’s members.
Lam appeared on Monday (May 19) in a court in Washington DC, where he pleaded not guilty to the superseding indictment.
The 13 suspects allegedly became friends via online gaming platforms and they developed a scheme that netted them a total of US$263 million.
They stole the money from cryptocurrency wallets, converted the crypto into dollars, and then laundered the money.
Malone Lam was reportedly central to the scheme and is named in the indictment as one of the gang’s two organisers.
The US Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia alleged that Lam and 21-year-old Conor Flansburg organised the scheme to identify and target crypto users.
Lam had already been charged with stealing 4,100 Bitcoin from a single victim, which at the time of the theft in August 2024 was worth over US$230 million.
He purportedly spent the money on nightclub visits – paying up to half a million dollars per evening – as well as buying at least 28 luxury cars, some of them worth up to US$3.8 million each.
In addition, Lam purchased luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars and rented homes in wealthy neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami.
Federal prosecutors now claim that Lam and Flansburg worked with the gang to identify other high-value targets, reportedly stealing US$14 million from another victim.
They also carried out home burglaries. In one incident, they allegedly broke into a victim’s home in New Mexico to steal a virtual currency wallet hardware.
Prosecutors alleged the gang converted the stolen digital currency into cash, which they shipped out to the scheme’s members concealed inside "squishmallow" stuffed animals.
Lam was arrested last September, but allegedly continued to run the organisation from behind bars.
He reportedly continued working with members of the crime ring to “pass and receive directions” while being held in detention, ahead of his trial this autumn.
He even allegedly had the ring’s members buy luxury bags and deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami.
The 13 suspects, including Lam, have been charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act.
His lawyer Scott Armstrong previously told CNA that “Malone Lam looks forward to exercising his right to trial by jury in this case”. The trial is scheduled to begin in October.
If found guilty, Lam faces more than 20 years in prison, a fine of up to US$250,000, or up to twice his gains from the alleged scams.
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The 20-year-old has already been charged with stealing cryptocurrency worth US$230 million from one victim in Washington DC.
In a new indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that he orchestrated a wider scheme with a dozen other individuals.
This included hiding money inside "squishmallow" stuffed animals and shipping them across the US to pay the gang’s members.
Lam appeared on Monday (May 19) in a court in Washington DC, where he pleaded not guilty to the superseding indictment.
The 13 suspects allegedly became friends via online gaming platforms and they developed a scheme that netted them a total of US$263 million.
They stole the money from cryptocurrency wallets, converted the crypto into dollars, and then laundered the money.
Malone Lam was reportedly central to the scheme and is named in the indictment as one of the gang’s two organisers.
The US Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia alleged that Lam and 21-year-old Conor Flansburg organised the scheme to identify and target crypto users.
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SPENDING SPREE
Lam had already been charged with stealing 4,100 Bitcoin from a single victim, which at the time of the theft in August 2024 was worth over US$230 million.
He purportedly spent the money on nightclub visits – paying up to half a million dollars per evening – as well as buying at least 28 luxury cars, some of them worth up to US$3.8 million each.
In addition, Lam purchased luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars and rented homes in wealthy neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami.
Federal prosecutors now claim that Lam and Flansburg worked with the gang to identify other high-value targets, reportedly stealing US$14 million from another victim.
They also carried out home burglaries. In one incident, they allegedly broke into a victim’s home in New Mexico to steal a virtual currency wallet hardware.
Prosecutors alleged the gang converted the stolen digital currency into cash, which they shipped out to the scheme’s members concealed inside "squishmallow" stuffed animals.
RUNNING THE ORGANISATION BEHIND BARS
Lam was arrested last September, but allegedly continued to run the organisation from behind bars.
He reportedly continued working with members of the crime ring to “pass and receive directions” while being held in detention, ahead of his trial this autumn.
He even allegedly had the ring’s members buy luxury bags and deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami.
The 13 suspects, including Lam, have been charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act.
His lawyer Scott Armstrong previously told CNA that “Malone Lam looks forward to exercising his right to trial by jury in this case”. The trial is scheduled to begin in October.
If found guilty, Lam faces more than 20 years in prison, a fine of up to US$250,000, or up to twice his gains from the alleged scams.
Continue reading...