2.4亿美元BTC窃案主谋Malone Lam周二将出席认罪听证会

Odaily News: Malone Lam, the mastermind behind the theft of over 4,100 BTC (valued at more than $240 million at the time) via a "social engineering" attack in August 2024, will appear at a plea agreement hearing this Tuesday.

The group posed as Google and Gemini staff, tricking the victim into granting Google Drive access and providing security verification codes before transferring away their Bitcoin and laundering the funds through multiple trading platforms and money laundering intermediaries. After succeeding, the group members splurged extravagantly: Lam, the 22-year-old Singaporean mastermind, once spent $569,000 in a single night at a Los Angeles nightclub, and used the stolen funds to purchase watches worth $2 million as well as more than 30 Porsches, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris.

A total of 18 defendants were indicted in connection with the case. The lavish spending exposed their vulnerabilities: one suspect was traced after leaking an IP address while hiding nearly $30 million in stolen assets, while another suspect was found in possession of $37 million in stolen crypto assets. U.S. judicial authorities have already issued sentences for multiple accomplices, and Lam is scheduled to appear at a plea agreement hearing on Tuesday.