Associated Press, Tuesday 8 September: Malone Lam, 22, Singapore, pleaded guilty in Washington to a RICO conspiracy. More than 4,100 bitcoin, more than $240 million at the time, stolen from a Washington, D.C., resident in August 2024. One of the largest crypto thefts prosecuted in the United States, AP says. Maximum sentence sought: 20 years. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly did not set a sentencing hearing. This is not the end of the case. It is not a sentence yet. It is a guilty plea.

Lam is the 11th of 18 defendants to plead, AP says. An organiser of a network, prosecutors say, since 2023. Two accomplices, still per the charge, posed as Google and Gemini. The resident opened a Google Drive, gave codes. Lam, the office says, siphoned the 4,100 bitcoin. We quote the file. We do not write a manual. A hardware wallet would not, by itself, have held against someone who hands over the codes. Atizapán is another thread. Here, no door. A phone.

If you build a cybercrime empire, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable.— Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia, via BBC / Courthouse News, 8 September 2026

He admitted. The coins, not yet

The first public act, 19 September 2024: indictment, Lam and Jeandiel Serrano, more than 4,100 bitcoin on 18 August 2024, then $230 million in the DOJ release. AP, 2026, holds $245 million. Two valuations, same pile. We set both down. The Miami arrest, DOJ 2024: the eve of 19 September. A month of spending, AP says: cars, Miami houses, $569,000 one night in Los Angeles. Courthouse News: a “significant” share is no longer traceable. He agrees to give up vehicles toward a restitution fund, in the deal. We do not invent a recovery.

The BBC carries Pirro: international network, deception, “hundreds of millions.” Layer 1 did not break. Nobody cracked Bitcoin. They made a man talk. The seven other defendants, who have not admitted, remain before the judge. Sentence date: not yet.

What 8 September holds

  • Held: guilty plea (RICO), 8 Sept. 2026, Washington; Lam 22, Singapore; max 20 years; Judge Kollar-Kotelly, no sentence date; 11th of 18; August 2024, >4,100 BTC, >$240m (AP) / $230m (DOJ 2024); Google/Gemini per prosecutors; Miami; Pirro.
  • Not held: a sentence handed down. That the 4,100 BTC came back. A victim’s name. A how-to. That Bitcoin was hacked. Advice to buy or sell.

Sources: AP / Tribune, Independent / AP, DOJ, 19 Sept. 2024, BBC, Courthouse News. Nothing here is investment advice.