Singaporean 22-year old pleads guilty to being the ringleader in $245 million crypto fraud case
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old, has pleaded guilty to leading an international crypto fraud network that stole $245 million through social engineering and home invasions. The case highlights the rising threat of AI-enhanced scams in the cryptocurrency sector.
Why it matters
The case underscores the increasing sophistication of cybercrime and the significant financial risks associated with digital asset security.
Malone Lam, a recent resident of Miami, was charged with running a group of fraudsters that used social engineering and home invasions to steal and launder cryptocurrency, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement on Tuesday .
Social engineering scams have become more common since then, and were the leading threat to crypto users in 2025, according to a report by crypto trading platform Whitebite. It found that nearly 41% of all crypto security incidents last year involved fraudsters stealing assets from people through fake investment offers or impersonation. These types of crimes, which are getting worse with AI, resulted in over $17 billion in losses last year, crypto analytics firm Chainalysis said earlier this year.
Malone “led an international network that preyed on victims through deception, invaded their privacy, and stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency,” said Pirro.
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