Miami waterfront mansion raided by FBI is linked to $230 million crypto scam, feds say

The FBI descended on a luxury Miami waterfront home Wednesday in a raid connected to the theft of cryptocurrency the government said was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

At the same time agents were serving the warrant in Miami, their colleagues arrested a man in Los Angeles who is part of the same investigation. A source confirmed the raids were part of a grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday related to a $230 million cryptocurrency scam.

Agents in Miami arrested Malone Lam, 20, who has residences in Miami and L.A., according to a Justice Department statement. In California, the FBI arrested Jeandiel Serrano, 21. They are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, according to the indictment.

Online, the two used monikers to hide their true identities. Lam, who is a citizen of Singapore, called himself “Anne Hathaway” and “$$,” while Serrano called himself “VersaceGod” and “@SkidStar,” according to the charging document.

They are accused of using these online identities to gain access to people’s cryptocurrency accounts and transfer the money to themselves, the government says. They would then move the money around through various cryptocurrency exchanges and pass-through wallets to conceal the origins of the currency, the indictment states.

In August, the two — and others not named — contacted a person in Washington and fraudulently obtained 4,100 Bitcoin, which the Justice Department said was worth $230 million at the time, the indictment said.

Proceeds spent on expensive cars, designer bags: Feds

Lam and Serrano spent the proceeds on nightlife, travel, expensive cars, jewelry, designer handbags and rental homes in Miami and L.A. , the feds say. The 10-bedroom, 10-bath home the feds raided Wednesday is located at 1201 NE 83rd St. and is listed on Zillow for $11.5 million. It sits on a canal.

Neighbors say the house is an Airbnb rental that often had Maseratis and Lamborghinis parked in the front yard.

“It’s usually rented out to you know visiting musicians or celebrities, sometimes it’s a film set,” said Mark Ehrlich, who lives in the house diagonal to where the raid occurred. “As we went to bed, flatbed trucks started showing up and loading whatever cars were at the property.”

Agents were still on the scene early Thursday morning. The front gate seemed to have been damaged during the raid as parts of the metal gate were strewn onto the sidewalk.

The house is owned by 1201 83rd Holdings LLC, according to Miami-Dade property records. Avrahom Zagelbaum is listed as the registered agent of the LLC, according to Sunbiz.org, the website for the Florida Department of State. The Herald could not reach Zagelbaum.

According to WSVN-Channel 7 news, agents wore tactical gear and had long guns.

‘A lot of fancy cars’

Soumare Barkowski has lived in the neighborhood since 1991 and has never seen that type of police presence before.

“Not only was it shocking, but it was inconvenient, because the cops were like, stay back, get back into your house,” she said. “Everyone was just stuck in place while they conducted their investigation.”

A notice was posted on the front gate, stating the property violated City of Miami regulations regarding parked vehicles without tags or registration.

“I think everyone in the neighborhood was surprised at the amount of cars that were inside the yard or on the property,” said Barkowski. “....there were a lot of fancy cars.”

Miami officers were in the area to assist the FBI, said police spokeswoman Kiara Delva.

This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 11:02 AM.