Singaporean Malone Lam has appeared in court in the United States after being charged with stealing more than 4,100 BTC, currently valued at about $274 million, from a private investor in Washington, according to local media.
Lam, 20, and his co-conspirator, Jeandiel Serrano, 21, are accused of executing a sophisticated social engineering scheme that marks one of the largest crypto thefts from an individual in U.S. history.
According to the unsealed indictment from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Lam and Serrano identified the victim as a wealthy crypto investor. They orchestrated unauthorized access to the victim’s Google account notifications, making it appear as if the security breaches came from abroad. On August 18, they contacted the victim, posing as Google support staff, and convinced him that his account had been hacked.
They gained the victim’s trust and obtained security codes to access his personal accounts. Lam allegedly accessed the victim’s OneDrive and Gmail accounts and found sensitive cryptocurrency and records from the Gemini exchange. The conspirators then posed as members of the Gemini security team and persuaded the victim to transfer approximately $3 million worth of crypto to a wallet under their control for alleged safekeeping.
They went ahead with the plan and instructed the victim to download a remote desktop application, which gave him real-time access to his computer. This allowed them to extract private keys worth over 4,100 BTC, effectively gaining control of the substantial assets. Lam continued to search the victim’s accounts for additional information to facilitate the theft.
Court documents show that Lam and Serrano laundered the stolen money through various crypto exchanges, quickly converting them into digital assets such as Litecoin, Ethereum and Monero to cover up the transactions. Serrano created an account on the TradeOgre exchange without a VPN and deposited approximately $29 million in crypto. Data traced this account to an IP address registered to Serrano’s residence in Encino, California, a property rented for $47,500 per month.
After the theft, Lam reportedly went on extravagant spending sprees. Authorities observed him at nightclubs in Los Angeles and Miami, spending between $400,000 and $500,000 a night and attempting to pay in crypto. Receipts show expenses for one night exceeded $569,000. He also amassed a collection of luxury cars, some of which were worth as much as $3 million. During raids, agents seized nine cars and luxury watches, one worth $1.8 million, from properties rented by Lam in Miami.
Blockchain researcher ZachXBT facilitated the arrest of Lam and Serrano and helped track the stolen funds and identify the perpetrators. The investigative work revealed the vulnerabilities exploited by advanced social engineering tactics within the crypto space. As noted in the indictment, Lam and Serrano communicated using online handles such as “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$,” “VersaceGod” and “@SkidStar” to coordinate their activities.
The case draws parallels to an incident involving billionaire Mark Cuban, who suffered a similar security breach in June. Cuban reported that his Google account was hacked after receiving a call from someone posing as Google support, leading to unauthorized access attempts. Although Cuban recovered his account within 24 hours without significant financial loss, the incident highlights the growing threat of social engineering attacks targeting high-profile individuals in the crypto industry.
According to court documents, Lam has admitted to further crypto thefts and fraud schemes. He and Serrano are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, each carrying a prison sentence of up to 20 years and fines of up to twice the amount earned from the illegal activities.
