Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Up to 12 Years for Stealing $16M from Coinbase Users

A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to up to 12 years in prison for stealing nearly $16 million from about 100 Coinbase users through a phishing and social engineering scheme.

Ronald Spektor, 23, of Sheepshead Bay, pleaded guilty to all 31 counts in the case, including first-degree money laundering, first-degree grand larceny, and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

The victims were contacted by Spektor, who posed as a Coinbase representative, warning them that their cryptocurrency accounts were at risk. They were persuaded to transfer their assets to new wallets that they believed were under their control, but which were actually accessible to Spektor.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said the scheme resulted in approximately $15.944 million in losses involving about 100 U.S.-based Coinbase users. The stolen assets were moved through different cryptocurrency exchanges and swapping services before being spent on gift cards, digital assets, or converted into cash.