A 22-year-old Singaporean national, Malone Lam, pleaded guilty in a Washington, D.C. federal court to leading an international cybercrime operation that stole and laundered about $245 million in Bitcoin from a wealthy investor.

Lam and his associates immediately funneled the stolen funds into an extravagant Miami lifestyle, buying over 30 ultra-luxury vehicles, a $2 million watch, private jets, round-the-clock security, rented mansions, and nightlife expenditures reaching well into the hundreds of thousands per night.

Rapid liquidation across multiple wallets left a significant portion of the original sum permanently untraceable, complicating restitution efforts for prosecutors.

Authorities described the theft as one of the largest crypto heists in U.S. history, carried out via social engineering in which Lam and associates impersonated Google and Gemini representatives to obtain security verification codes and access about 4,100 Bitcoin.

Under the plea, Lam faces up to 20 years in federal prison and possible deportation, with a status hearing scheduled for December 2026; the U.S. government has forfeited 28 luxury cars to aid restitution for the victim.