Two California Men Arrested by Feds for Allegedly Stealing $250,000,000 in Bitcoin From Washington D.C. Victim

FBI agents just arrested two men accused of carrying out a heist that saw one victim lose about a quarter of a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC). 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia says authorities are charging California residents Malone Lam and Jeandiel Serrano with conspiracy to steal and launder $250 million in Bitcoin after robbing 4,100 BTC from a Washington D.C. victim. 

Authorities allege that the duo started the massive heist on August 18th, 2024, after getting in touch with the victim. 

After obtaining the large Bitcoin trove, the pair allegedly laundered the BTC through mixing services and exchanges using peel chains – a technique used by criminals to launder large amounts of digital assets through a series of small transactions. They also allegedly used pass-through wallets and virtual private networks (VPNs) to conceal the movements of funds on-chain. 

Lam and Serrano allegedly used the stolen funds on international travel, nightclubs, luxury cars, watches, jewelry, designer bags and rental homes in Los Angeles and Miami. 

According to court documents, Lam and Serrano will be asked to forfeit all properties acquired from the theft and pay a money judgment against the defendants if found guilty.

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