Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty to $245 Million Bitcoin Theft in US

New York. A 22-year-old Singaporean, Malone Lam, has been found guilty in America on charges of stealing approximately 245 million US dollars worth of Bitcoin. Lam admitted in court to stealing and laundering the said amount of cryptocurrency with his friends. US authorities have called this one of the largest cryptocurrency theft cases in the country to date. Lam, who dropped out of school in the eighth grade, came to the US from Singapore in October 2023. Despite his visa expiring, he remained in the US and engaged in criminal activities. According to documents presented in court, a criminal network operated under his leadership from October 2023 to May 2025. The Federal Bureau of Investigation agents dealt a major blow to the group's activities when they arrested Lam and an associate in September 2024. The Ministry of Justice stated that this group used to obtain confidential information by deceiving people. Investigations revealed that in some cases, they even obtained the necessary details to empty cryptocurrency wallets by stealing from the victims' homes. For the theft, Lam was found to be using names such as N Hathaway, 444, and King Gravy. US authorities said he was the main planner of the criminal group and was involved in tasks ranging from identifying victims to coordinating the roles of other group members. On Tuesday, Lam pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit fraud, and he could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. US District Judge Colleen Kotelly has not yet set a date for his sentencing. Hermes Birkin bags were also purchased with the stolen money. Officials said those bags, worth tens of thousands of dollars, were thrown towards the crowd during parties at nightclubs. They also used the stolen money to purchase luxury watches worth up to $500,000, expensive clothing worth tens of thousands of dollars, rental houses in Los Angeles, Hampton, and Miami, private planes, and private security guards. Lam had become known in nightclubs in Los Angeles and Miami due to his flashy lifestyle. His style of rapidly spending large sums of money obtained from cryptocurrency also attracted the attention of investigators. Another associate in the same case, Evan Tanggman, was sentenced to 70 months in prison in April for money laundering charges. After Lam's arrest, Tanggman also attempted to destroy evidence. According to the US Department of Justice, the court considered his actions as evidence of his awareness of the crime.