Singaporean man pleads guilty in US to $245m bitcoin theft

Malone Lam, a 22-year-old from Singapore, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Washington to a federal racketeering conspiracy charge tied to one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts recorded in the US [1][2]. Prosecutors said Lam worked with friends to steal about $245m in bitcoin from a Washington, D.C., resident in an August 2024 heist and to launder the proceeds [1][2][3]; some accounts put the figure at roughly $240m [2][3]. The Justice Department said the group spent up to $500,000 a night at nightclubs and bought exotic cars valued between $100,000 and $3.8m, while other reporting cited private jets and hired security [1][3]. Lam faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, and U.S.

Sources

1. bbc.co.uk · Singaporean man pleads guilty in US to massive crypto heist Sep 9, 2026
2. click2houston.com · Singapore man pleads guilty to orchestrating $240 million bitcoin theft from DC resident Sep 8, 2026
3. click2houston.com · Party's over for crypto scammers who went on a spending spree after a $240 million bitcoin theft Sep 7, 2026

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