Cryptocurrency scam ringleader pleads guilty to defrauding victims of $250 million

Malone Lam, 22, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy for leading a scheme that stole over $250 million in cryptocurrency by posing as tech support and hacking victims' accounts, funding a lifestyle that included $500,000 nights at Miami clubs and rented mansions. The largest theft, roughly $245.9 million in Bitcoin from a single victim identified only as R.W., involved conspirators posing as Google employees before draining his wallets via remote desktop access.

Lam faces up to 20 years in prison and possible deportation to Singapore. Prosecutors say much of the stolen money can no longer be traced, though Lam has agreed to forfeit a fleet of Ferraris, Rolls-Royces and Lamborghinis toward victim restitution.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro praised the plea as proof the office will 'hunt down' cybercriminals, a claim that arrives after the money was already spent on nightclubs and mansions rather than before.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.