Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Prison for $16M Coinbase Phishing Scheme

Ronald Spektor, a 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, has been sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for stealing nearly $16 million from approximately 100 Coinbase users through phishing and social engineering. He pleaded guilty to all 31 indictment counts on September 2.

The scam involved Spektor contacting victims while pretending to work for Coinbase, warning them that their accounts had been compromised or their assets were at risk. He would pressure them into transferring cryptocurrency into supposedly secure wallets, which he could access and remove the funds from after the transfers arrived.

Prosecutors said roughly 70 of the victims were interviewed during the investigation, with losses ranging from $53,150 to over $1 million. Spektor must forfeit property worth more than $500,000 and pay nearly $16 million in restitution as part of his sentence.