nytimes.com
Two men have been charged with stealing $230 million worth of cryptocurrency that they used to go on a lavish spending spree involving travel, nightclubs, luxury cars, jewelry and palatial rental properties in Los Angeles and Miami before they were caught, federal prosecutors said.
The men, Malone Lam, 20, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, conspired last month to steal the cryptocurrency funds from a person in Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
After disguising their theft by spreading the money between several cryptocurrency exchanges and mixing services, the authorities said, the men went on their spending spree.
Mr. Lam, a citizen of Singapore who operated under aliases including “Anne Hathaway,” and Mr. Serrano, who went by “VersaceGod," were arrested by the F.B.I. on Wednesday.
In an indictment unsealed on Thursday, Mr. Lam and Mr. Serrano were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Diego Weiner, a lawyer with Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A. Criminal Defense Attorneys in Miami, said that he planned to “vigorously defend” Mr. Lam and asked that he be “presumed innocent” unless proven otherwise. He said he had not received any evidence from the government.
Mr. Serrano’s lawyer could not be immediately reached on Friday.
The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for more details regarding how the men had gained access to the victim’s funds. The indictment said only that the two had “engaged in digital communications” with the victim on Aug. 18 and “through such communications fraudulently obtained the means” to transfer and steal the funds. In a news release, the attorney’s office said the investigation was continuing.
The victim was not named in the indictment. According to the document, the two men had gained access to his 4,100 Bitcoin, estimated to be worth more than $230 million at the time.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are digital tokens that can be exchanged online and are not overseen by any central authority. Transactions are verified through cryptography and recorded in a public ledger, called a blockchain. In 2022, the world of cryptocurrency was rocked by the collapse of FTX, an exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. By this year, cryptocurrencies have regained their value.
News media in Florida reported that on Wednesday the F.B.I. and the Miami police raided a mansion near Miami Shores, Fla., in connection with the investigation. Neighbors told reporters that the home had recently drawn attention because of its loud parties and fancy cars. The Miami Herald reported that the palatial house was an Airbnb rental and that Maseratis and Lamborghinis had been seen parked in the yard outside.
In recent years, scams involving cryptocurrency have proliferated. They have ranged from sophisticated wire-fraud plots to schemes involving drugging victims targeted through online dating apps. Using the victim’s smartphone, thieves have managed to transfer their holdings into their own crypto wallets.