22-year-old dropout accused of helping steal $240M in Bitcoin allegedly spent $569K in a single night and bought more than 30 cars

Malone Lam, a 22-year-old dropout from Singapore, is expected to enter a guilty plea in federal court in Washington, D.C., following his role in one of the most significant cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history. Prosecutors have identified Lam as a suspected ringleader in a scheme that resulted in the theft of more than $240 million in Bitcoin from a single victim. 

As reported by the NY Post, upcoming plea agreement hearing marks a major development in a case that has spanned international borders and reportedly involved a group of young men in their late teens and early 20s. The entire operation allegedly began in August 2024 when the group utilized a sophisticated social engineering attack to target a wealthy, longtime cryptocurrency investor. 

By posing as representatives from Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, the scammers convinced the victim that his accounts were compromised. This manipulation led the victim to grant the group access to his Google Drive and provide the necessary security codes to bypass his defenses. Once they had the keys, Lam and his associates reportedly siphoned off more than 4,100 Bitcoin.

He reportedly spent over $500,00 in a single night 

After the theft, the group moved the digital assets through various exchange platforms and employed money laundering specialists to turn the stolen crypto into liquid cash. What followed was a big spending spree. Lam and his associates allegedly burned through $4 million at Los Angeles nightclubs in just one month. In one particularly wild instance, Lam reportedly spent more than $569,000 during a single night out.

The excess did not stop at nightclubs. Lam allegedly used the stolen funds to acquire a $2 million watch and a collection of more than 30 vehicles, including custom Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and several others.

The group also lived in multimillion-dollar rental homes, chartered private jets, and even hired their own private security teams. The level of luxury was so extreme that U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle commented on it during Lam’s initial court appearance in Miami. She remarked, “I could only think of Ferris Bueller gone bad,” while referencing the 1986 film character.

The lifestyle eventually led to their downfall as investigators reportedly tracked their digital and physical footprints. One co-conspirator, Jeandiel Serrano, made a major mistake by failing to hide his IP address while setting up an account on a cryptocurrency exchange that held nearly $30 million of the stolen money. This allowed authorities to trace the address directly to a home in Encino, California, that Serrano was renting for $47,500 per month.

FBI agents reportedly apprehended Serrano at Los Angeles International Airport while he was wearing a watch valued at approximately $500,000. Lam was taken into custody on the same day at a mansion in Miami. This case has resulted in charges against 18 defendants, ten of whom have already reportedly entered guilty pleas. If convicted, Lam could be looking at a prison term of at least 14 years under federal sentencing guidelines.