US authorities announced charges against 12 new individuals on May 15, naming Malone Lam in a four-count indictment.

Most of the accused are between 18 and 21 years old. Some are American citizens, while others are foreign nationals. Two of them are believed to be in Dubai, and a few are known only by their online usernames.

The charges include conspiracy under racketeering laws, wire fraud, and money laundering. One member, John Tucker Desmond, is accused of destroying evidence to interfere with the investigation.

According to court documents, the group formed around October 2023 after meeting on gaming platforms. Each person had a different role—some hacked databases, others pretended to be support staff to trick victims, and a few helped move the stolen crypto into cash.

The group reportedly used a range of tools to hide their activity, including VPNs, coin mixers, and fake companies. They used the money for personal use, booking private jet flights, buying at least 28 luxury cars, renting expensive homes, and spending large amounts at clubs. Some of the cash was hidden inside stuffed toys during transport.

Authorities also reported that Lam continued to give instructions to others while in custody, including telling someone to deliver luxury items to his partner. The investigation is ongoing, with help from FBI teams in Los Angeles and Miami.

On May 14, authorities in Europe arrested 17 people for operating a crypto-based network that laundered over $23 million. How did the case unfold? Read the full story.

The assets include a stake in Robinhood, cryptocurrency holdings, private jets, and political donations. The forfeiture was outlined in a court order, Final Order of Forfeiture as to Specific Property, issued on February 18, 2025, by the Southern District of New York.

One of the biggest assets seized was 55.2 million shares of Robinhood. The US Department of Justice took control of these shares in January 2023, and later, Robinhood repurchased them for $605.7 million.

The forfeiture extended to large cryptocurrency holdings stored in Binance.US

$4.85M

and traditional bank accounts. The seized digital assets included millions in Bitcoin
BTC


$95,787.98

, Ethereum
ETH


$2,805.98

, Tether
USDT


$0.9992

, Dogecoin
DOGE


$0.2446

, and Cardano
ADA


$0.7764

.

The order also included two private planes—a Bombardier Global 5000 and an Embraer Legacy. Additional assets tied to Alameda Research, the trading firm SBF co-founded, were also confiscated.

Furthermore, authorities detailed a list of political donations made by SBF or directed by him through other FTX executives, including Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh. The donations, which had gone to various political campaigns and organizations, were returned to the government.

On the same day as the court order, FTX began repayments to creditors—a group classified under “Convenience Class”. It also announced the next round of payouts. When will it occur? Read the full story.