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

Ronald Spektor, a 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, has been sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for orchestrating a phishing scheme that swindled nearly $16 million from around 100 Coinbase users across the United States.

The scam, which unfolded over about a year, involved Spektor posing as a Coinbase representative and convincing victims their assets were at risk from hackers. He would then persuade them to transfer their funds to a new wallet that he controlled, which he used to launder the stolen cryptocurrency through swapping and mixing services into cash, gift cards, and other digital assets.

Prosecutors tracked down Spektor using transaction records, blockchain analysis, and evidence from multiple search warrants. They discovered he had used online forums to recruit accomplices and had bragged about his crimes on the Telegram handle @lolimfeelingevil under a channel called “Blockchain enemies.”