Meet 22-year-old Malone Lam, the crypto thief who used the alias 'Anne Hathaway'. He spent $245 million in stolen crypto on jets, supercars and clubs

At just 22, Singaporean national Malone Lam had already built a lifestyle that looked more like a billionaire's than a young man's.

Private jets. Exotic cars worth as much as $3.8 million. Luxury watches costing more than $500,000. Designer clothes and handbags. Rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami.

And on some nights, members of the group he helped lead spent as much as $500,000 at a nightclub.


The money, U.S. prosecutors say, came from an international cryptocurrency theft and money-laundering operation that stole and laundered more than $245 million.

On September 8, 2026, Lam pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington, D.C., to participating in a RICO conspiracy. Prosecutors described him as a ringleader who helped organize the operation, identify victims and coordinate the roles of other members.

He was known online as “Anne Hathaway”

Lam wasn't operating under his real name online.

Prosecutors say he used several aliases, including “Anne Hathaway,” “$$$” and “King Greavy.”

The operation began no later than October 2023 and continued until at least May 2025. Its members were spread across the United States and overseas, with some relationships reportedly developing through online gaming platforms.

Lam, who had been living in Miami, allegedly played a central organizing role.

He helped select targets and assign responsibilities to other members of the network, turning what might have looked like isolated cryptocurrency thefts into a coordinated operation.

The group didn't just hack wallets

The scheme relied heavily on social engineering — manipulating victims into giving up information that could be used to access their cryptocurrency.

According to prosecutors, members sometimes posed as people who could help victims deal with supposed cyberattacks or other security problems.

The enterprise also allegedly used information gathered through databases and, in some cases, physical break-ins at victims' homes to obtain access to cryptocurrency wallets.

That combination made the operation particularly difficult to understand as a conventional crypto hack.

It wasn't simply about breaking into a computer system.

The group allegedly researched people, identified valuable targets, manipulated them, moved stolen cryptocurrency and, in some cases, crossed from the digital world into the physical one.

Then the money turned into a luxury lifestyle

Once cryptocurrency was stolen, prosecutors say members of the enterprise converted it into an extraordinary amount of conspicuous spending.

They rented homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami.

They traveled by private jet.

They bought luxury watches valued from $100,000 to more than $500,000, along with designer clothing and handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars. Some handbags were reportedly handed out at nightclub parties.

Then came the cars.

The group accumulated exotic vehicles ranging from roughly $100,000 to $3.8 million.

And their nightlife spending could be almost as eye-catching as their car collection: prosecutors say members spent as much as $500,000 on nightclub services in a single evening.

They also maintained a team of private security guards.

For a group allegedly making its fortune by stealing cryptocurrency, the spending was remarkably visible.

A $245 million operation built around deception

The sheer scale of the alleged operation is what makes the case unusual.

More than $245 million in cryptocurrency was stolen and laundered, according to the Justice Department. The enterprise involved people performing different jobs, including organizers, target identifiers, callers, hackers, money launderers and residential burglars.

The investigation eventually stretched across multiple federal agencies and several states.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI's Washington Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation led the investigation, with assistance from federal offices in California, Florida and New Jersey.

Lam was arrested on September 18, 2025, at a rental home in Miami.

Nearly a year later, he admitted his role in the conspiracy in federal court.

Lam pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. His next status hearing is scheduled for December 8, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said the case demonstrated that law enforcement would pursue cybercrime networks even when their members operated internationally.