Malone Lam Pleads Guilty in First RICO Bitcoin Case

Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean national, pleaded guilty to one count of RICO conspiracy over an operation that stole and laundered more than $245 million in cryptocurrency.

The US Justice Department announced the plea, entered before US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. It is reportedly the first time federal prosecutors have applied racketeering law to a Bitcoin-related crime. RICO conspiracy is a charge under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, written for organized crime. The single count folds the social engineering, the break-ins and the laundering into one case, instead of prosecuting each theft on its own.

How the ring worked

Court documents describe an enterprise formed through connections on online gaming platforms that operated from no later than October 2023 through at least May 2025. Prosecutors alleged members posed as Google support staff, then as Gemini support, and persuaded a victim to reset two-factor authentication and run screen-sharing software that exposed private keys. The proceeds, prosecutors alleged, moved through crypto mixers, exchanges, pass-through wallets and virtual private networks.

Prosecutors initially accused Lam and Jeandiel Serrano of fraudulently obtaining more than 4,100 Bitcoin from a single Washington, D.C. victim on Aug. 18, 2024.

From theft case to racketeering case

On May 15, 2025, prosecutors filed an expanded indictment charging 12 additional defendants and putting total thefts at more than $263 million, a total that covers thefts beyond the $245 million conspiracy covered by the plea. It also included a separate $14 million theft in July 2024 and an alleged home break-in targeting a hardware wallet.

Prosecutors alleged members spent the proceeds on private jets, rental properties, watches and at least 28 exotic cars, some priced as high as $3.8 million each, and ran nightclub bills reaching $500,000 in a single evening. Restitution of roughly $245 million was reportedly ordered.

Lam faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. No sentencing date has been announced; a status hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2026.