Singaporean living in Miami among 2 charged in US$230 million cryptocurrency theft

A Singaporean living in the United States was among two people charged with conspiring to steal and launder US$230 million in cryptocurrency on Thursday.

The pair are accused of fraudulently obtaining over 4,100 bitcoin, which was worth over US$230 million at the time, from a victim in Washington DC, the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday.

Malone Lam, a 20-year-old Singaporean who lives in Miami and Los Angeles, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, from Los Angeles were arrested by the FBI on Wednesday night.

Lam, who goes by the online monikers “Anne Hathaway” and “$$$”, and Serrano, who uses “VesaceGod” and “@SkidStar”, appeared in court on Thursday, read the press release.

Lam, Serrano and others had allegedly conspired to carry out cryptocurrency thefts and to launder the stolen cryptocurrency “through exchanges and mixing services” since at least August this year.