Authorities have charged twelve individuals with RICO in connection with a $263 million Bitcoin theft. 
Suspects laundered funds via mixers and bought exotic cars. 
Malone Lam directed crimes from detention, per the indictment.

The DOJ has brought charges against 12 new people in connection with a massive cybercrime investigation that involved stealing and laundering over $263 million worth of cryptocurrency. Authorities made the announcement through a four-count superseding indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court on May 15, 2025.

Some of the defendants come from the US, while others belong to other countries, and all are facing racketeering conspiracy charges that took place in the US and abroad. The DOJ caught a few individuals in California this week, although it believes two more are in Dubai.

U.S. Attorney Pirro, joined by FBI Special Agent in Charge Ryan and IRS-Criminal Investigation Executor Carter, shared the details of the charges. The charges made against Conor Gills are RICO conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and obstructing justice.

The indictment points to an August 2024 theft in which Malone Lam and Jeandiel Serrano allegedly stole $230 million in crypto from a victim in Washington, D.C. It is clear that the project affected a large number of people due to its focus on high-value cryptocurrency users.

Leaders say that the group relied on advanced ways to clean their illegal money. They used different measures such as mixing crypto and using multiple wallets to hide their activities. In addition, they made use of VPNs to hide their actions.

The money from the stolen crypto made it possible for the conspirators to have an extravagant way of living. According to them, they spent as much as half a million dollars per night inside a nightclub, purchased luxury timepieces for a hundred thousand dollars to five hundred thousand dollars and accumulated 28 unique automobiles from $100,000 to $3.8 million.They also got some of the best homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami, together with private jets and security crews.

Money Laundering Tactics and Luxury Purchases

The prosecution outlines a huge amount of money laundering done by the group. The prosecution has charged Kunal Mehta, together with Hamza Doost, Joel Cortez, and Evan Tangeman, with providing unlicensed services to convert cryptocurrencies to cash. According to the reports, they rented the properties using fake documents, organized private jet flights with the money they stole, and hid their cars through fake firms.

The court document states that investigators discovered the conspirators moved cash nationwide by hiding the money inside Squishmallow toys. Each shipment usually contained about $25,000.

Even after his imprisonment in September 2024, one of the commanders, Malone Lam, continued to oversee activities. While on pretrial detention, it is said he instructed his group to collect the stolen cryptocurrency and purchase Hermes Birkin bags, which were then delivered in person to his girlfriend in Miami.

The group also spent heavily on expensive handbags and ritzy clothing in the same price range, giving many of them out at parties in nightclubs. These payments formed part of a strategy to show wealth and influence by spending money that wasn’t theirs.

Ongoing Investigation and Legal Proceedings

This probe is being handled by the FBI’s Washington, Los Angeles, and Miami offices as well as the IRS-Criminal Investigation unit. The DOJ pointed out that just receiving an indictment doesn’t mean anyone is guilty, and all defendants are considered innocent until convicted by a court.

The case is a part of the increasing number of cryptocurrency cases handled by the DOJ. The department announced on its website that they have recovered $20 million of misused funds connected to the Malaysian fraud case.

The post US DOJ Charges 12 More in Massive $263M Bitcoin Theft Case appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ May 17, 2025 6:09 am