Young Fraudster Charged in $230 Million Cryptocurrency Scam

Malone Lam, a 20-year-old, has been charged in the United States with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a large-scale cryptocurrency theft. Lam, along with his alleged accomplice Jeandiel Serrano, reportedly stole and laundered $230 million in cryptocurrency, deceiving their victim by impersonating Google employees.

The scheme, described by U.S. prosecutors as one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts from a private individual in the countrys history, involved the theft of over 4,100 bitcoins from a Washington-based victim. Court documents unsealed earlier this month revealed the intricate planning behind the fraud.

Lam and Serrano reportedly manipulated the victim by sending fraudulent Google account access notifications to his email. Using proxy and VPN services, they made it appear as though the attempted breaches were from overseas. The two then posed as Google support staff, contacting the victim to warn of a potential hack and urging him to provide security codes to secure his account.

After obtaining the codes, Lam allegedly accessed the victims personal accounts, including OneDrive and Gmail, to locate the cryptocurrency assets. To further their scheme, the conspirators convinced the victim to transfer $3 million in cryptocurrency to a wallet controlled by Lam. They also tricked the victim into downloading remote desktop software, which gave them real-time access to his computer, allowing them to steal over 4,100 bitcoins.

The court documents also reveal that Lam used the online handles “$$$” and “Anne Hathaway” on Telegram and Discord to discuss strategies for manipulating the victim. Serrano, using the pseudonyms “VersaceGod” and “@SkidStar,” allegedly facilitated the laundering of the stolen funds through a cryptocurrency exchange, TradeOgre. Evidence from the exchange linked an account to Serranos home address in Encino, California, where he was renting a property for $47,500 per month.

Authorities discovered Lams extravagant lifestyle, funded entirely by stolen funds. Court documents show that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at Los Angeles nightclubs, purchasing luxury handbags and spending as much as $500,000 in a single night. He also bought a fleet of luxury cars, including Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches, valued at millions of dollars. Out of 31 cars he admitted purchasing, 22 have yet to be recovered.

Lam, who entered the U.S. in October 2023 under the Visa Waiver Program, was arrested in Miami in September 2024. Authorities seized luxury items, including nine cars and expensive watches, during the raid. His co-conspirator, Serrano, was apprehended at Los Angeles International Airport upon his return from a holiday in the Maldives.

Lam, who has no legal status in the U.S., now faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors are also seeking fines of up to $250,000, or double the amount of his illicit gains.