A US court has scheduled the trial of Singaporean national Malone Lam for October 6. The 20-year-old is accused of orchestrating a cryptocurrency heist that netted over $230 million worth of Bitcoin.
At current prices, the 4,100 Bitcoins Lam is accused of stealing are valued at over $450 million. If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years, according to Channel News Asia.
Before his arrest in September 2024, Lam allegedly spent his ill-gotten gains at an astonishing rate. Investigators found evidence of extravagant spending, including up to $500,000 a night at nightclubs in Los Angeles and Miami. Receipts revealed purchases such as $72,000 on 48 bottles of champagne and $38,500 on 55 bottles of Grey Goose vodka. One bill reportedly totaled nearly $570,000.
Lam’s spending spree extended beyond nightlife. He is believed to have acquired over 30 luxury cars, including customized Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches. Among the high-end vehicles were a Pagani Huayra, purchased for $3.8 million, and a Lamborghini Revuelto, which cost over $1 million.
Prosecutors revealed that at the time of his arrest, Lam’s co-defendant, 21-year-old Jeandiel Serrano, was wearing a $500,000 watch, while Lam had a timepiece worth $2 million. Social media posts that surfaced before his arrest showed Lam gifting Hermès Birkin bags, which can cost upwards of $20,000 each, to models and influencers at clubs.
Lam’s lavish lifestyle attracted not only law enforcement but also criminals. His parents were allegedly kidnapped in August 2024 in an incident believed to be connected to his wealth.
According to the indictment, Lam and Serrano posed as Google support agents to deceive their victim, a high-net-worth cryptocurrency investor in the United States. They allegedly used social engineering tactics to gain access to the victim’s accounts, transferring 4,100 bitcoins—now worth over $450 million—to their own wallets. They then employed sophisticated laundering techniques, including crypto mixers, peel chains, and VPNs, to obscure the origins of the funds.
