A 22-year-old man who dropped out of school in the eighth grade pleaded guilty on Sept. 8 to helping steal more than $245 million in cryptocurrency after teaming up with friends.
According to the Associated Press, Malone Lam used proceeds from the theft to buy luxury cars, rent Miami mansions and spend millions at nightclubs. One night at a Los Angeles club, he reportedly spent $569,000.
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The money didn’t come from a lucky crypto investment, either. Prosecutors say it was stolen from a Washington, D.C., resident in August 2024, in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history. The group allegedly posed as representatives of Google and the Gemini crypto exchange, and the victim lost a staggering $245 million in digital assets.
How the group allegedly got hold of the money is another part of the story. A scam doesn’t always begin with a suspicious-looking email or an obvious fake website.
What happened?
Lam, a Singaporean citizen who had been living in Miami, pleaded guilty to participating in a federal racketeering conspiracy.
The Justice Department says the international cybercrime operation began around October 2023 and continued until approximately May 2025. The group allegedly used social engineering to steal cryptocurrency and move the money around to hide where it came from. Prosecutors say the group formed through connections made on online gaming platforms and included people based in California, Connecticut, New York, Florida and abroad.
Lam and his associates allegedly posed as representatives of Google and the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. They convinced the victim to give them access to his Google Drive and reveal security codes, according to prosecutors.
That gave the group access to more than 4,100 bitcoin, worth over $245 million at the time. The money was then laundered and converted into cash. Prosecutors say Lam used some of it to buy more than 30 luxury cars, including custom Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris. He also bought a $2 million watch and spent millions at clubs.
Lam is one of 18 defendants charged in the case and the 11th to plead guilty, according to the Associated Press. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A status hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2026.
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How scammers can trick you into giving up your crypto
You don’t have to be sitting on millions in crypto to become a target.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported a record $16.6 billion in losses from internet crime and scams in 2024. Cryptocurrency-related fraud accounted for at least $9.3 billion of that total, with the FBI reporting that crypto fraud increased sharply from the previous year.
Those numbers include everything from investment scams to account takeovers. But many of these schemes start in a familiar way — someone reaches out claiming there is a problem with your account.
The person might say they’re from a crypto exchange, a bank or a technology company. They could tell you there’s suspicious activity, ask you to verify your identity or say you need to secure your account..
In Lam’s case, prosecutors say the scammers posed as representatives of Google and Gemini and convinced the victim to provide access to his Google Drive and security codes.
For anyone with a crypto account, it’s worth slowing down when an unexpected message asks for information that could give someone access to your money.
Don’t click on a link in the message or hand over a password, security code or private key. Instead, go directly to the company’s website or app and contact it through a phone number or support channel you know is legitimate.
The same goes for anyone telling you to move your crypto to another wallet to “protect” it. If the person contacted you out of the blue and is asking you to move your money, stop before doing anything.
The FBI recommends reporting suspected internet scams through its Internet Crime Complaint Center. Even if you aren’t sure whether you’ve been scammed, filing a report can give investigators information about how these schemes are operating.
With cryptocurrency, once you’ve handed over control of your money, getting it back can be extremely difficult, if not outright impossible.
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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Malone Lam, 22, pleads guilty to stealing $245 million in crypto through a Google impersonation scheme
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
