Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 12 Years for $16M Coinbase Phishing Scam
A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in a massive phishing scam targeting Coinbase users. Ronald Spektor, 23, posed as a representative from Coinbase and tricked victims into sending their cryptocurrency to what they believed was a secure wallet.
The scammer, who went by the online name 'lolimfeelingevil', managed to steal $16 million in crypto from unsuspecting investors. He would claim that their accounts were under threat from hackers and instruct them to move their funds to a new wallet controlled by him.
Spektor's scheme was sophisticated, with him even bragging about his thefts on a Telegram channel and claiming to have gambled away $6 million in crypto. Investigators linked his home IP address to several of the victims' wallets and found that he had recruited accomplices online.
Spektor pleaded guilty to all 31 counts, including first-degree money laundering and grand larceny. He must forfeit over $500,000 in assets and pay nearly $16 million in restitution.