Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Phishing Scheme
A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for running a phishing and social engineering scheme that swindled nearly $16 million from Coinbase users. Ronald Spektor, 23, convinced his victims that they had been hacked and needed to transfer funds to accounts he controlled.
The scam lasted over a year and involved the laundering of digital assets across multiple crypto exchanges, with Spektor eventually converting them into cash or purchasing gift cards. The investigation found that Spektor relied on urgency and pressure to deceive his victims, often using spoofed domains and caller IDs to convince them to act quickly.
As part of his sentence, Spektor has been ordered to forfeit over half a million dollars in assets and make restitution of nearly $16 million. The case highlights the growing threat of social engineering scams in the crypto space, with nearly 41% of all security incidents in 2025 involving such tactics.