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Bitcoins are displayed on a table on August 22, 2026. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing
Multiple young men duped an individual out of bitcoin worth more than $240 million in one of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts in the nation’s history.
The heist occurred in August 2024, and the men went on an extravagant spending spree, buying fleets of sports cars, flying on private jets, renting mansions in Miami and the Hamptons, and hiring security guards.
Malone Lam, 22, the alleged ringleader, spent over $569,000 in one evening at a Los Angeles nightclub
Eighteen defendants have been charged and Lam would be the 11th to plead guilty. The judge presiding over Lam’s case, has sentenced three of his co-conspirators. She sentenced two money launderers to prison terms of six years.
In November 2024, Veer Chetal pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and awaits sentencing. Serrano’s charges remain pending.
“I could only think of Ferris Bueller gone bad,” U.S. Magistrate Alicia Valle said, referring to the school-skipping character of the 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Scammers steal millions through ‘social engineering’ theft
On Aug. 18, 2024, a man identified as “Victim 7” in court filings was at home in Washington when his phone rang.
According to court documents, the first caller identified himself as a Google representative inquiring about attempts to breach his account. A second, claiming to be from the Gemini crypto exchange, warned the man of a malware attack impacting his crypto wallet.
The callers deceived the man into giving them access to his Google Drive and revealing security codes that permitted Malone Lam, the accused ringleader, to funnel over 4,100 bitcoin, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors tell The Associated Press that Lam and his friends on the calls — Veer Chetal and Jeandiel Serrano — targeted the man because he was a wealthy, longtime crypto investor.
Meanwhile, a private recording captured the moment when the friends realized how much money they just stole, according to a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by a private investigator of cryptocurrency crimes who goes by ZachXBT.
After the scammers stole the victim’s savings, they laundered the money through different exchange platforms to convert the virtual currency into government-issued money.
However, Serrano didn’t hide his IP address when he created an account on a cryptocurrency exchange to hold almost $30 million in stolen crypto, the AP reported, citing prosecutors.
Investigators later connected the IP address to a residence in Encino, California, that Serrano was renting for $47,500 a month.
Crypto swindlers excessive spending draws attention
Court documents noted that Jeandiel Serrano was vacationing in the Maldives when investigators identified him as a suspect.
Authorities tell The Associated Press that Malone Lam was in Los Angeles, where he and friends spent $4 million at nightclubs in one month.
Veer Chetal gifted a Lamborghini to his parents and hid a duffel bag filled with $500,000 in cash in their laundry machine.
A week after the massive heist, Chetal’s parents were driving in Danbury, Connecticut, when several masked men cut them off, forced them out of the Lamborghini, assaulted Chetal’s father with a baseball bat, shoved the couple into a van and tied their hands.
The AP reported that the men planned to use Chetal’s parents as leverage to extort him into giving up his portion of the stolen crypto. But the ransom plot flopped when they were later captured by police.
On Sept. 9, 2024, FBI agents searched Chetal’s apartment in Brunswick, New Jersey, on and found $37 million in stolen crypto in his possession. Chetal agreed to cooperate with their investigation.
Lam spent large amounts of money at clubs and throwing bags worth tens of thousands of dollars to women in the crowds.
He also used stolen cryptocurrency to purchase a $2 million watch and more than 30 cars, including Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, the AP reported, citing the FBI.
Referencing prosecutors, the AP reported that Serrano was wearing a $500,000 watch when FBI agents arrested him at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 18, 2024. Serrano initially proclaimed his innocence but later admitted to having about $20 million of the Washington, D.C. man’s stolen crypto.
Lam was arrested at one of his Miami mansions on the same day as Serrano. An off-duty police officer had tipped off Lam that authorities were on their way to arrest him, the AP noted, citing an indictment.
Theess, which cites prosecutors involved in the case and court documents related to the case. This story was reported from Washington, D.C
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Source: www.fox10phoenix.com