Malone Lam, 20-year-old boy becomes the mastermind of international theft of 4,100 Bitcoins

JAKARTA - A young man named Malone Lam, who is accused of being the mastermind and leader of an international cyber criminal gang for the theft of cryptocurrencies worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, has entered a new phase.

During the trial in the Washington DC Federal Court, Lam's lawyer, John Patrick Pierce, revealed that they were considering a plea deal with the United States Government, and talks were still ongoing.

"We want to make the best effort to reach a settlement, and I am confident we can do so in good faith," Pierce told the panel of judges, quoted on Friday, December 19.

Malone Lam himself was arrested by the FBI in 2024, where he is currently 20 years old. He was accused of being the mastermind behind the theft of 4,100 bitcoins, which are now worth 350 million US dollars (Rp. 5.5 trillion).

Together with his colleagues, Lam is known to have squandered their criminal proceeds in Los Angeles and Miami, to buy sports cars, expensive jewelry, partying in nightclubs, and renting luxury apartments.

The glamorous life of the man who was born on July 19, 2004 who had attended Unity Secondary School, Choa Chu Kang, in 2017 was what finally caught the attention of law enforcement officers.

In addition to stealing thousands of Bitcoins, the group is also suspected of draining funds worth 14 million US dollars from other victims. The modus operandi used by the Lam group is to target wealthy individuals who own crypto assets.

They disguised themselves as Google technical support officers or representatives of cryptocurrency exchanges to trick victims into handing over passwords, private keys, and seed phrases.

After taking control of the victim's account, the crypto assets were stolen and laundered through foreign exchanges before being finally liquidated into cash. It is also known that almost all members of the group are aged between 18 and 22 years old.

Until now, Lam is still waiting for the trial process and is in the stage of filing a motion. The prosecutor has offered a plea deal, although the details have not been revealed to the public.