U.S. federal court documents show that a 22-year-old Singaporean man, Malone Lam, will appear in a plea agreement hearing in Washington on Tuesday. The prosecution accuses him of being part of an encryption crime syndicate that is suspected of defrauding more than 4,100 bitcoins from an investor, amounting to approximately $245 million.
Victims were induced to hand over verification codes.
The prosecution stated that this victim from Washington State, identified in the case files as “Victim-7”, received a call at home. The caller claimed to be from Google and Gemini, claiming that their accounts were under attack. Subsequently, the caller induced the victim to install remote desktop software and to provide a security verification code.
The prosecution stated that the suspect subsequently transferred more than $245 million worth of Bitcoin from the victim's wallet. This case is also listed as one of the major cryptocurrency theft cases being investigated at the federal level in the United States.
Funds flow towards Monero and shell companies
The indictment states that the bitcoins in question were subsequently exchanged for Monero through a trading platform that did not require identity verification, and then continued to be transferred through multiple layers of split transactions. Some of the cash was allegedly concealed inside plush toys and transported across states to make tracking more difficult.
The case files also state that Lam spent $4 million in nightclubs in Los Angeles within a month and purchased more than 30 cars, which were registered under the name of a shell company called Crypto Administration LLC.
The case has revealed more violent crimes.
The same indictment shows that in addition to online fraud, the gang was also accused of stealing hardware wallets through burglary. As news about the funds involved in the cases spread, the members of the gang themselves became targets of extortion.
About a week after the incident, the parents of co-defendant Veer Chetal were hit by a car while driving in Connecticut, and then they were beaten and tied up by multiple people. The prosecution alleges that the attackers intended to use this to extort a share from Chetal. After witnesses called the police, an off-duty FBI detective happened to pass by the scene.
Ten defendants have already pleaded guilty.
A total of 18 defendants are involved in this case, and so far 10 have pleaded guilty. The U.S. district judges in charge of trying this case, Colleen Kollar - Kotelly, have already rendered judgments against 3 of them and stated in court that the young age of the individuals involved is not a sufficient excuse.
