A superseding indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court has charged 12 additional individuals, both American and foreign nationals, with participating in a cyber-enabled racketeering conspiracy that reportedly netted over $263 million. The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, FBI Special Agent Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Executive Special Agent Kareem A. Carter of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office, alleges crimes including RICO conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
The alleged criminal enterprise is said to have begun by October 2023 and continued through March 2025. It reportedly grew from connections made on online gaming platforms and involved roles such as database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers, and residential burglars targeting hardware virtual currency wallets.
According to the indictment, members used stolen virtual currency for extravagant purchases like nightclub services costing up to $500,000 per evening and luxury items including handbags and watches valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. They also allegedly laundered funds using various methods to conceal their identities.
In one instance on August 18, 2024, Malone Lam allegedly defrauded a victim out of over 4,100 Bitcoin worth more than $230 million at the time. In another incident in July 2024, Lam and others purportedly stole over $14 million in cryptocurrency from another victim.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. If convicted, their sentences will be determined based on advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rosenberg with support from several field offices across the country.
