Two young men pulled off a $230 million bitcoin heist in one of the largest crypto thefts from a private individual in U.S. history. But after indulging in luxury cars and a $2 million watch, the story took a sinister twist. Now, prosecutors say the crime may be tied to a shocking kidnapping — and more than $100 million is still missing.
‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This in 20 Years’
U.S. prosecutors have revealed that two young men, accused of orchestrating one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history, went on a massive spending spree following the theft of $230 million in bitcoin. According to court documents, Malone Lam, 20, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, used the stolen funds to purchase luxury cars and a $2 million watch, in addition to racking up nightclub tabs totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Aug. 18 cyber heist targeted a Washington D.C. resident, and at least $100 million of the stolen bitcoin remains unaccounted for, prosecutors disclosed in a District of Columbia federal court filing. Authorities believe this cryptocurrency theft might be linked to another crime: the Aug. 25 kidnapping of a Connecticut couple. The couple, who were abducted while driving a rented Lamborghini, may have been targeted because their son allegedly had access to cryptocurrency.
The suspects “planned to kidnap the victims” and then “demand payment in the form of digital currency from the son of [the couple] in return for the safety,” according to the indictment against six Florida men charged in connection with the kidnapping. Detective Sgt. Steven Castrovinci of the Danbury Police Department commented on the unusual nature of the case, telling CNBC:
I’ve never seen anything like this in 20 years … It’s amazing to see how this thing has grown legs.
Lam and Serrano, arrested in September, admitted to using sophisticated social engineering tactics to manipulate their victim. They posed as personnel from Google and crypto exchange Gemini, convincing the victim to grant them access to his Google Drive, which contained information about his cryptocurrency holdings. “Serrano was eventually able to manipulate the victim into opening files with private keys to over 4,100 bitcoin,” the filing detailed. The stolen bitcoin was then split among the conspirators.
The lavish spending by Lam and Serrano following the theft caught the attention of law enforcement. Lam, arrested in Miami after flying in on a private jet, had rented multiple luxury homes and admitted to purchasing 31 luxury cars, though many remain missing. Serrano, arrested in Los Angeles upon returning from the Maldives, had $20 million in stolen bitcoin on his phone, which he later agreed to return to the FBI. Despite these arrests, over $100 million of the stolen cryptocurrency remains missing, with federal authorities continuing to investigate the case.
Prosecutors described the theft as:
One of the largest cryptocurrency thefts from a private individual … in the history of the United States.
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