The U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) jointly announced that they had successfully cracked a huge cryptocurrency fraud case, and two suspects, including a Singaporean citizen, were arrested. The case revealed that the two defendants were suspected of conspiring to defraud a resident of Washington, DC, and stole more than 4,100 bitcoins, with a total value of more than US$230 million (approximately HK$1.79 billion) based on the market price at the time.
According to the official announcement of the Department of Justice and the New York Times, the Washington Federal Prosecutor's Office pointed out that the 20-year-old Singaporean defendant Malone Lam has residences in Miami and Los Angeles, and the other 21-year-old defendant Jeandiel Serrano is from Los Angeles. The two were arrested by the FBI on the 18th and are currently facing charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They appeared in federal district courts in Florida and California on the 19th.
The indictment shows that the two defendants have been working with other accomplices since at least last month to steal victims' cryptocurrency accounts and transfer assets through fraudulent means. In the process, they used technologies such as peel chains, electronic wallets, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to disperse the stolen money to different mixers and trading platforms, attempting to evade investigation through complex money laundering methods.
It is reported that Lin Malone pretended to be Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway online, while Serrano used the pseudonym "VersaceGod". They conspired with other accomplices on August 18 to obtain more than 4,100 bitcoins from victims through digital communications and fraud.
The court documents did not detail the modus operandi or the identity of the victims, but pointed out that the two defendants spent lavishly after their success, including overseas travel, frequent nightclubs, and the purchase of luxury goods such as luxury cars, watches, jewelry and designer handbags, and rented luxury houses in Los Angeles and Miami.
According to reports, the FBI and Miami police raided a luxury house in the city on the 18th. Neighbors said that the property has attracted attention recently because of the frequent noisy parties and the frequent entry and exit of luxury cars. It is understood that the luxury house was rented out through the Airbnb platform.
The prosecution said the case is still under investigation. Lin Malong's lawyer said that he has not yet received the case information from the authorities and everyone should temporarily assume that the client is not guilty. $BTC
