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Received — 11 September 2026 ⏭

Minecraft-spawned crypto kingpin faces 20 years for $245 million heist — mastermind's role in hacking campaign fueled their supercar, bodyguards, and private jet habit

✇Tom's Hardware
By: Mark Tyson
10 September 2026 at 15:25

The ringleader of a cybercrime gang, which reportedly formed after meetups in Minecraft online, has pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge. Sentencing is yet to be finalized, but 22-year-old Singaporean and Miami resident Malone Lam could face 20 years behind bars. Lam is accused of helping to steal and launder hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Here are the full United States District Court for the District of Columbia documents (PDF), via The Register.

According to the court documents, Lam visited the U.S. to meet fellow Minecrafters Jeandiel Serrano and Veer Chetal, for the first time in real life, in 2023. Soon, Lam’s role in the cybercriminal gang seems to have become an important one. The Singaporean reportedly found high-net-worth crypto holders to target, supported social engineering operations, leveraged technology to trigger account access alerts on target devices, and was involved in laundering the pilfered digital booty.

Lam’s crypto fraud gang reportedly totaled 12 members, and this criminal fraternity operated for about two years. Documents indicate that the individual crypto thefts ranged from $800,000 to tens of millions of dollars. One crypto heist purportedly netted $245 million from a single victim.

Cybergang members enjoyed lavish lifestyles due to their swindling successes. The court documents mention members of the gang owning “a fleet of 31 exotic cars, ranging in value from $100,000 up to $3,800,000.” They would also run up nightclub service bills of up to $500,000 a night, buy luxury watches, clothing, and more. As well as rent prestigious homes in locations like Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami – traveling around in private jets and protected by a team of security guards.

Court document screenshot of car fleet

(Image credit: Future)

Lam was arrested in September 2024, though, so they didn’t really get to enjoy that lavish luxury lifestyle for very long. Since that time, their suspected criminal activities have been under deeper investigation. The last members of the ‘Minecraft crew’ threw in the towel around May 2025. Lam has now pleaded guilty to RICO violations, and a status hearing is scheduled for December 8 this year; the Singaporean faces up to 20 years in jail. The Register notes that another member of Lam’s fold, Marlon Ferro, was handed a 6.5-year sentence back in May. Ferro’s role was effectively a ‘physical plan B,’ and they reportedly took part in multiple physical burglaries at the behest of the gang if/when social engineering attacks weren’t enough.

Fire Marshal Uncovers House of Horrors Lurking Inside Bitcoin-Mining Data Center

✇Futurism
By: Joe Wilkins
10 September 2026 at 13:28

Back in August, a massive leak in El Reno, Oklahoma spewed close to four million gallons of local water into the ground, forcing the city into an unofficial stand-still.

The cause was quickly traced back to a damaged water line belonging to a Bitcoin-mining data center operated by the company Athlon BT. As ABC5 reported at the time, city inspectors trawling the building’s exterior uncovered the failed water line, as well as violations around drainage, maintenance and access, and expired building permits.

Weeks later, an investigation by the local fire marshal inside the El Reno data center uncovered a further laundry list of horrifying violations.

The inspectors discovered vessels full of flammable liquid stored near combustible materials, Oklahoma station KFOR reported, in addition to fire extinguishers that weren’t properly maintained.

Electrical equipment and crucial wiring was also found in disrepair, while a lockbox meant to hold keys for emergency first responders to easily access the facility was left empty. Vegetation on the building’s exterior was in violation of the fire code.

As a result of the copious fire hazards, the city gave the data center a “failing” grade, indicative of a building with severe structural or safety failures.

When it comes to data centers, fire safety is no small matter. The structures are already highly prone to conflagration due to massive electrical loads, lithium-ion batteries, and chips that run at extremely high temperatures.

In one Ohio township, fire fighters reported being overwhelmed by the high volume of calls to two local data center campuses. In addition to tying up first responders, data center fires are costly affairs for taxpayers, as property tax abatements mean nearby residents — not data center owners — can be the ones fronting the bill whenever the fire company gets a call.

More on data centers: Data Center Caught Watering Its Lavish Lawn While Human Neighbors Are on Year-Long Water Restriction

The post Fire Marshal Uncovers House of Horrors Lurking Inside Bitcoin-Mining Data Center appeared first on Futurism.

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