Malone Lam pleads guilty to leading gang that stole over $245 million in cryptocurrency via social engineering
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean who used the aliases "Anne Hathaway", "$$$" and "King Greavy", has pleaded guilty to leading a group that stole more than US $245 million in cryptocurrency from victims across the United States. According to the US Department of Justice, the group operated from October 2023 to May 2025 and recruited accomplices through online gaming platforms. Lam was first arrested in October 2024 after allegedly stealing about US $230 million in Bitcoin from a single victim while posing as Google Support. The gang spent its proceeds lavishly, including nightclub tabs of around US $500,000 a night, luxury cars worth up to US $3.8 million each, mansions, private jets and private security, which drew the attention of investigators. Lam faces up to 20 years in prison. Co-conspirator Evan Tangeman was sentenced in April 2026 to over five years for laundering stolen funds, and other members are still in court.
Detalhes técnicos
- The group ran a racketeering conspiracy with specialised roles: database hackers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers and burglars who physically broke into homes to steal hardware cryptocurrency wallets.
- The main method was social engineering, such as fake tech support calls and spoofed numbers, to talk victims out of their funds.
- One charged member was found moving about US $25,000 in cash hidden inside Squishmallow plush toys.
Remediação
- Be wary of anyone on a support call who asks you to share your screen or provide a 2FA code.
- Holders of large cryptocurrency balances should consider storing funds in a hardware cold wallet.
Linha do tempo
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Malone Lam pleads guilty to leading gang that stole over $245 million in cryptocurrency via social engineering
ler a análise desta fonte ocultar
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean who used the aliases "Anne Hathaway", "$$$" and "King Greavy", has pleaded guilty to leading a group that stole more than US $245 million in cryptocurrency from victims across the United States. According to the US Department of Justice, the group operated from October 2023 to May 2025 and recruited accomplices through online gaming platforms. Lam was first arrested in October 2024 after allegedly stealing about US $230 million in Bitcoin from a single victim while posing as Google Support. The gang spent its proceeds lavishly, including nightclub tabs of around US $500,000 a night, luxury cars worth up to US $3.8 million each, mansions, private jets and private security, which drew the attention of investigators. Lam faces up to 20 years in prison. Co-conspirator Evan Tangeman was sentenced in April 2026 to over five years for laundering stolen funds, and other members are still in court.
Technical Details
- The group ran a racketeering conspiracy with specialised roles: database hackers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers and burglars who physically broke into homes to steal hardware cryptocurrency wallets.
- The main method was social engineering, such as fake tech support calls and spoofed numbers, to talk victims out of their funds.
- One charged member was found moving about US $25,000 in cash hidden inside Squishmallow plush toys.
Remediation
- Be wary of anyone on a support call who asks you to share your screen or provide a 2FA code.
- Holders of large cryptocurrency balances should consider storing funds in a hardware cold wallet.