Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty To $245m Bitcoin Heist In US

A 22-year-old Singaporean, Malone Lam, has pleaded guilty in the United States to his role in a cryptocurrency theft that resulted in the loss of about $245 million worth of bitcoin.

Lam pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge after prosecutors accused him of organising an international group that used deception and stolen personal information to gain access to victims’ cryptocurrency wallets.

According to the BBC, the US Department of Justice said Lam and his associates spent the stolen funds lavishly, with the group allegedly spending as much as $500,000 in a single night at nightclubs.

The group also purchased more than 30 luxury vehicles, with individual cars reportedly worth between $100,000 and $3.8 million.

Prosecutors said the stolen proceeds were also used to purchase high-end watches, designer clothing, private jet rentals, luxury homes and Hermes Birkin handbags.

Some of the handbags, which were worth tens of thousands of dollars, were reportedly thrown into crowds during nightclub parties.

US authorities described Lam, who also used the aliases “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$” and “King Greavy,” as the ringleader of the operation. He allegedly identified victims and coordinated the roles of other members of the criminal enterprise.

Court documents stated that the conspirators, who were based in several US states and other countries, met through online gaming platforms.

They allegedly deceived victims into providing confidential information and, in some cases, carried out home break-ins to obtain information that allowed them to drain cryptocurrency wallets.

Lam told US investigators that he dropped out of secondary school in Singapore at the age of 14. He travelled to the US in October 2023 and remained in the country after his visa expired in January 2024.

According to court documents, the conspiracy began no later than October 2023 and continued until at least May 2025.

Lam and another co-conspirator were arrested in September 2024, bringing the operation to an end.

During Lam’s first court appearance, US Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle reportedly compared his extravagant lifestyle to “Ferris Bueller gone bad” after he gained access to more than $230 million.

The US Department of Justice said Lam faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. No sentencing date had been scheduled as of Tuesday.

Another member of the conspiracy, Evan Tangeman, was sentenced to 70 months in prison in April for laundering proceeds from the scheme.