Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 12 Years for $16M Coinbase Phishing Scheme

A Brooklyn man was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for his role in a massive crypto scam that stole nearly $16 million from around 100 Coinbase users.

The scammer, Ronald Spektor, posed as a Coinbase worker and tricked victims into transferring their funds to wallets he controlled.

Spektor's scheme involved sending messages or making calls that appeared to come from Coinbase, warning users of a hacker threat and instructing them to move their cryptocurrency to new wallets for safety.

The stolen funds were then moved through multiple wallets and services, with some being converted into cash, gift cards, or other cryptocurrencies.