Prosecutors charge 13 men in crypto theft ring

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have charged 13 young men in what court records describe as a wide-ranging conspiracy to identify victims with substantial holdings of cryptocurrency, steal those assets, and then launder the proceeds.

More than $265 million in crypto was stolen from the victims, according to a superseding indictment obtained Thursday by CNBC.

One of the defendants, Malone Lam, was previously charged in connection with the largest of those thefts, which netted about $245 million in bitcoin from a man in D.C. in mid-August.

That theft is believed to have led to the brazen kidnapping in suburban Connecticut of the parents of one of Lam’s alleged co-conspirators by a crew of thugs from Florida who prosecutors say planned to hold the parents for ransom from their newly rich son.

The superseding indictment accuses 12 other men and the Singapore native Lam of charges that include RICO Conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and obstruction of justice. Two of the men, Hamza Doost and Kunal Mehta, were arrested this week in California, according to court filings.

Most of the other defendants are believed to have been arrested around the United States in the past several days.

But neither Lam’s co-defendant in the original indictment related to the $245 million heist — Jeandiel Serrano — nor the son of the people kidnapped in Connecticut is named as a defendant in the new superseding indictment.

Instead, both men appear to be identified only as “co-conspirator” in that charging document.

“Mr. Lam is 20 years old and has no criminal history,” Lam’s defense attorney Scott Armstrong told CNBC.

He is unfortunately caught up in a very complicated case.  We will vigorously defend him,” Armstrong said.

CNBC has requested comment from Serrano’s attorney.

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