{"id":27247,"date":"2025-05-16T21:01:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T21:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=27247"},"modified":"2025-05-16T21:01:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T21:01:38","slug":"bitcoin-bandits-busted-doj-charges-12-in-263-million-cyber-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=27247","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin Bandits Busted: DOJ Charges 12 In $263 Million Cyber Heist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A dozen more suspects have been added to a massive crypto theft<\/a> case. Based on reports, the new names join Malone Lam, who was first indicted on September\u202f19,\u202f2024. They now face charges tied to stealing 4,100\u202fBitcoin last August and laundering roughly $263\u202fmillion.<\/p>\n

Group Faces Federal Racketeering Charges<\/h2>\n

According to the Department of Justice, the superseding indictment<\/a> brought on May\u202f15,\u202f2025, adds 12 people to the original case against Lam. All are from California and most are between 18 and 22 years old.<\/p>\n

One earlier defendant, Jeandiel Serrano, was dropped from the updated filing. The DOJ says some of those charged are behind bars, while two are believed to be living in Dubai.<\/p>\n

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Additional 12 Defendants Charged in RICO Conspiracy for over $263 Million Cryptocurrency Thefts, Money Laundering, Home Break-Ins<\/p>\n

\"\ud83d\udd17\"https:\/\/t.co\/5jPyk1XN6A<\/a>@USAttyPirro<\/a> @FBIWFO<\/a> @IRS_CI<\/a> @FBILosAngeles<\/a> @FBIMiamiFL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WLP84c0bZp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) May 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Online Games To Real-World Theft<\/h2>\n

Based on reports, this ring started as a group of friends playing online video games in October\u202f2023. They then moved on to hacking databases and making cold calls to trick crypto holders into handing over access.<\/p>\n

According to investigators, Lam even hacked a victim\u2019s iCloud to track their movements, and a partner nicknamed \u201cThe Accountant\u201d or \u201cGoth\u202fFerrrari\u201d would break into homes to steal hardware wallets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bitcoin & Money Laundering Network Exposed<\/p>\n

The DOJ says the stolen proceeds\u2014more than $230\u202fmillion from a single incident on August\u202f18,\u202f2024\u2014were run through VPNs<\/a>, crypto mixers and peel\u2011chain tactics.<\/p>\n

A peel chain works by shifting funds through many wallets and peeling off small amounts each time. Those steps made it harder for law enforcement to trace the money, officials noted.<\/p>\n

Lavish Spending On Stolen Funds<\/p>\n

Based on reports, the suspects blew the gains on high\u2011end nightlife, exotic cars and luxury goods. They spent as much as $500,000 in one night at clubs.<\/p>\n

They rented 28 exotic cars\u2014some valued at $3.8\u202fmillion each\u2014and bought designer bags, watches and clothes. Fake IDs were used to rent homes and private jets, all paid for with the stolen Bitcoin.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A Growing Emphasis On Crypto Security<\/p>\n

This case illustrates how rapidly tech\u2011savvy youngsters can become criminals. It indicates that hardware wallets require good physical security and that digital accounts must employ multi\u2011factor authentication more than SMS.<\/p>\n

Crypto owners must be cautious against uninitiated support calls and employ services that lock down iCloud and email accounts.<\/p>\n

Next Steps In The Prosecution<\/p>\n

All defendants are charged under RICO and face counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Court records show they could get decades in prison if convicted.<\/p>\n

The DOJ says this superseding indictment sends a clear message: no matter how complex the scheme, law enforcement can break it apart.<\/p>\n

Featured image from Outseer, chart from TradingView<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A dozen more suspects have been added to a massive crypto theft case. Based on reports, the new names join Malone Lam, who was first indicted on September\u202f19,\u202f2024. They now face charges tied to stealing 4,100\u202fBitcoin last August and laundering roughly $263\u202fmillion. Group Faces Federal Racketeering Charges According to the Department of Justice, the superseding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-27247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}