PANews reports on May 17th that according to a New Zealand police announcement, a Wellington man was arrested in Auckland for allegedly participating in a global cryptocurrency fraud operation led by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The criminal group stole cryptocurrency worth $265 million (450 million New Zealand dollars) from seven victims and subsequently laundered money through multiple platforms between March and August 2024.
New Zealand police stated that search warrants were executed in Auckland, Wellington, and California over the past three days, with several arrests made, including one in New Zealand. A total of 13 people are facing charges. The US Department of Justice has filed charges against the Wellington man under US federal law, accusing him of extortion (RICO), conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The man appeared in the Auckland District Court today, was temporarily prohibited from disclosing his name, and has been granted bail. He is scheduled to appear again in the Auckland District Court on July 3, 2025.
In a previous report, the US Department of Justice indicted 12 suspects involved in a $263 million cryptocurrency crime, accusing them of participating in a criminal network organized by the mastermind Malone Lam. The group committed crimes through social engineering fraud, database intrusion, and physical theft of hardware wallets. Lam personally is accused of a single fraud of $230 million. Currently, 10 defendants have been arrested, with 2 accomplices still at large in Dubai. The indictment shows the group's division of labor included target screening, phone fraud, money laundering, and on-site theft. Lam had remotely monitored victims' iCloud data and directed accomplices to commit burglary. Records from August 2024 show the group stole 4,100 bitcoins (valued at $385.4 million) through P2P fraud.
