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WASHINGTON DC: A Singaporean man accused of stealing US$230 million in cryptocurrency has requested a “speedy trial” in the United States.
Malone Lam, 20, appeared before a judge in Washington DC on Thursday (Nov 14) for a pre-trial hearing to discuss the disclosure of evidence.
Lam and his co-conspirator Jeandiel Serrano, have been charged with stealing and laundering over 4,100 bitcoin – worth about US$230 million at the time – by pretending to be a Google employee.
US prosecutors have described the scam as “one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts from a private individual … in the history of the United States”.
Lam allegedly used the money to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per night at nightclubs in Los Angeles and Miami, as well as buying dozens of luxury cars.
On Thursday morning, US Marshals brought Lam into the courtroom at DC District Court for the short status hearing.
Wearing blue trousers, and a white long-sleeved t-shirt with a blue prison shirt over the top, he sat beside his two lawyers. His face was largely obscured by his glasses – in line with court protocol – and a blue surgical mask.
US prosecutor Kevin Rosenberg and one of Lam’s defence team, Patrick J Queenan discussed sharing evidence ahead of the expected trial next year, known as the discovery phase.
That includes a hard drive, online chat screenshots and Lam’s smartphone, which remains locked.
The judge overseeing proceedings, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, said that “the FBI has become quite adept at extraction” of data from phones.
Kollar-Kotelly asked Lam if he was aware of his rights concerning his request for a “speedy trial”, to which he answered yes.
A speedy trial is a legal right under the US Constitution that protects against “undue delay” in criminal prosecution. It means the trial cannot be delayed indefinitely.
The judge suggested a trial could take place in March or April 2025.
She also asked if he wanted to continue to review the evidence his team will share with the prosecution.
Lam said: “There’s no need for me to review the discovery from the government.”
In a statement to CNA after Thursday’s hearing, his attorney Scott Armstrong said: “Mr Lam is 20 years old and unfortunately caught up in a very complicated case. We will vigorously defend him.”
Lam and Serrano, 21, from Los Angeles, allegedly targeted the victim because they identified him as a “high-net-worth investor” from the early days of cryptocurrency.
According to court documents, the pair sent “unauthorised Google account access” notifications to the victim in the week leading up to the theft.
They used proxy and virtual private network (VPN) services to make it appear as if the access attempts were coming from overseas – this laid down the groundwork for the theft through “sophisticated social engineering”.
The court heard that on Aug 18, Lam and his accomplice called the victim, pretending to be Google support team members. They said there had been a hack attempt on his account.
The pair ultimately convinced the victim to provide the security codes to his account, before Lam allegedly accessed the victim’s OneDrive and Gmail accounts to locate the cryptocurrency assets.
He also “further scoured” the victim’s private accounts looking for additional information, court documents showed. Lam found Gemini cryptocurrency exchange records in the victim’s Google accounts.
The conspirators agreed that one of them should call the victim back and pose as a Gemini security team member to convince the victim that his cryptocurrency accounts had also been compromised.
Initially, they allegedly convinced the victim to transfer about US$3 million of cryptocurrency to a crypto wallet controlled by Lam.
They then asked the victim to download a remote desktop connection program for his own security. This program gave Lam and Serrano real-time access to the victim’s computer.
Serrano purportedly continued to manipulate the victim into opening several files, including those with private keys to over 4,100 bitcoin.
While Serrano continued to speak with the victim, Lam used the access keys to steal the bitcoin.
Court documents show Lam went on a spending spree, paying US$400,000 to US$500,000 per night at US nightclubs.
Lam also apparently bought a “collection of luxury automobiles”, some costing as much as US$3 million. They included custom Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches.
According to the court documents, Lam admitted to buying 31 luxury cars, 22 of which had yet to be found as of Sep 24.
On Sep 10, Lam flew on a private jet from Los Angeles to Miami to continue his spending spree.
He rented multiple homes in Miami, including one on Hibiscus Island and two other luxurious homes near the water. One of those homes had a monthly rent of US$68,000.
In Miami, Lam continued to spend money in nightclubs, as well as on jewellery and cars.
Lam is being held pending trial at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, about two hours south of the US capital.
He will return to the DC court on Jan 9, 2025 when he and his co-defendant Jeandiel Serrano are scheduled for another pre-trial hearing. The judge could set a date for their trials at that hearing.
For each offence, Lam faces up to 20 years in jail, a fine of up to US$250,000, or up to twice his gains from the scams.
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