Malone Lam, a Singapore-based organizer, pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $245 million bitcoin theft from a U.S. victim, the largest single-victim cryptocurrency theft in American history, according to court filings.
Lam entered a guilty plea on September 8, 2026, to RICO conspiracy charges. The U.S. Department of Justice described the theft as the largest bitcoin heist targeting one individual in the country's history. Lam faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; a sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The scale of the theft exceeds prior cryptocurrency thefts attributed to individual actors in the U.S. court system. Court records show Lam orchestrated the scheme rather than acting alone, though the filing has not yet detailed the full network of co-conspirators or their roles.
RICO conspiracy charges allow prosecutors to pursue defendants for leading criminal enterprises through a pattern of racketeering activity. The charge carries sentencing guidelines that typically run higher than theft charges alone, particularly when the amount stolen exceeds $100 million.
The case represents one of the largest cryptocurrency-related prosecutions to reach a guilty plea in federal court. Prior major bitcoin thefts prosecuted in the U.S. include the 2015 Silk Road case, where Ross Ulbricht faced charges related to a marketplace that facilitated criminal commerce, and the 2022 arrest of Manhattan resident Ilya Lichtenstein for allegedly laundering proceeds from the Bitfinex exchange hack.
Lam's admission comes as federal law enforcement has intensified focus on cryptocurrency theft rings. The FBI and Secret Service have established dedicated task forces for digital-asset crime, and the DOJ has secured multiple convictions and guilty pleas in cases involving thefts exceeding $50 million over the past three years.
The sentencing phase will determine whether Lam receives the statutory maximum or a lower term. Prosecutors typically argue for lengthy sentences in cases involving theft amounts in the nine figures, citing the sophistication required and the difficulty victims face in recovering stolen cryptocurrency.
