22-Year-Old Pleads Guilty in $245M Crypto Theft Scheme Involving Google Impersonation
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old Singaporean citizen residing in Miami and with no formal education beyond the eighth grade, has pleaded guilty to participating in an international cybercrime scheme that resulted in over $245 million being stolen from a Washington D.C. resident’s cryptocurrency account. The group allegedly impersonated Google and Gemini representatives between October 2023 and May 2025, using social engineering tactics to gain access to the victim's Google Drive and security codes, which led to the theft of over 4,100 bitcoins. Lam is one of 18 defendants in this case and faces up to 20 years in prison. The stolen funds were laundered into cash and used for extravagant purchases such as luxury cars, a $2 million watch, and high-end club spending. This incident highlights the growing threat of cryptocurrency fraud, with U.S. internet crime losses reaching over $16 billion in 2024, nearly half attributed to crypto-related scams.
Tickers: $GOOG
Topics: cryptocurrency fraud legal proceedings scam