A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty in a US federal court to a racketeering conspiracy charge for stealing $339 million in bitcoin from a Washington resident.

Malone Lam faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, according to prosecutors. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly didn’t immediately schedule a sentencing hearing in Washington.

Lam led a network of young men who carried out cryptocurrency scams starting in 2023, prosecutors said. He is the 11th defendant to plead guilty out of 18 individuals charged in the case, Michael Kunzelman reports for SMH business (AU).