Malone Lam pleads guilty in $245M crypto theft conspiracy

Lam, a 22-year-old Singapore citizen and recent Miami resident, pleaded guilty on Sept. 8 to one count of RICO conspiracy covering the theft and laundering of more than $245 million in cryptocurrency, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The sentencing math doesn’t resolve cleanly. The estimated Guidelines range is 324 to 405 months. The statutory maximum is 240 months — 20 years — which means the ceiling sits below the low end of the Guidelines estimate. The plea materials do not state a restitution amount, so victims’ compensation remains unresolved pending sentencing; no sentencing date is listed.

The DOJ describes the enterprise as running from no later than October 2023 through at least May 2025, with Lam as the organizer: selecting targets, directing co-conspirators, and combining social engineering with occasional home break-ins to drain victims’ accounts. The DOJ says conspirators spent as much as $500,000 per night on nightclub services, plus luxury watches, private jets, and exotic cars.

The case expanded over time. A superseding indictment announced May 15, 2025 added 12 defendants and cited more than $263 million in total crypto thefts. The guilty plea uses “more than $245 million.” The arithmetic: ($263 million − $245 million) / $263 million = 6.84% — though since both figures are qualified as “more than,” neither is a final accounting, according to reporting on the case.

Earlier filings alleged that Lam and co-defendant Jeandiel Serrano fraudulently obtained more than 4,100 BBTC$79,655.00▲1.61% from a single victim, an accusation that first surfaced August 18, 2024. Lam wasn’t arrested until September 18, 2025 — after both the enterprise’s stated endpoint and the superseding indictment — when agents picked him up at his Miami rental.

Three federal agencies worked the investigation: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Washington D.C. Field Office. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said Lam led “an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency,” and added: “If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable.”

Lam’s guilty plea resolves his admission to the RICO-conspiracy count, but the supplied materials do not state the restitution or forfeiture amount. The plea agreement states that the statutory maximum is 240 months and gives an applicable fine range of $40,000 to $500,000; the sentencing date has not been announced.