Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean national, pleaded guilty to a single count of RICO conspiracy before US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) identified Lam as the mastermind behind an international criminal syndicate. The group he led stole and laundered crypto assets with a total value exceeding $245 million between October 2023 and May 2025.
The criminal network controlled by Lam did not originate from typical hacker forums. Instead, the syndicate formed through connections among players across various online gaming platforms. When hunting for victims online, Lam disguised his identity behind several pseudonyms, ranging from ‘Anne Hathaway’ and ‘$$$’ to the alias ‘King Greavy’.
Social Engineering and 4,100 BTC
The peak of the group’s asset theft spree targeted a Genesis creditor. On August 18, 2024, Lam’s syndicate transferred over 4,100 Bitcoin from the victim. At the time of the theft, the thousands of Bitcoin were valued at more than $230 million.
The modus operandi used by Lam and his co-conspirators relied on social engineering techniques. The perpetrators contacted the victim while posing as staff from Google and crypto exchange Gemini. Through manipulation tactics, they persuaded the victim to reset the two-factor authentication (2FA) settings on their devices.
Once the initial security was bypassed, the perpetrators instructed the victim to share their device screen via a screen-sharing feature. By directly viewing the victim’s screen, Lam and his crew copied the private keys. The group did not solely rely on remote hacking; if online deception failed to produce results, they did not hesitate to carry out physical home invasions to gain control over the targeted crypto assets.
Awaiting Sentencing Date
Lam’s run and the syndicate’s operations came to an end on September 18, 2024. Authorities arrested the Singaporean national alongside one of his associates, Jeandiel Serrano. Legal proceedings against both are now underway in the US federal court system.
Although Lam pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge, the final ruling in his case will take more time. A status hearing for the defendant is scheduled for December 8. To date, the court has not set a definitive date for Lam’s sentencing.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
