Coinbase Impersonator Sentenced to Prison for Nearly $16 Million Crypto Heist
Ronald Spektor, a 23-year-old from Sheepshead Bay, has been sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for posing as a Coinbase representative and scamming nearly $16 million from about 100 users.
Spektor pleaded guilty to all 31 counts of the indictment, including first-degree money laundering and first-degree grand larceny. The sentence was imposed by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, who also ordered Spektor to pay almost $16 million in restitution and forfeit cash, crypto, and personal property worth over $500,000.
The scheme involved Spektor warning users that a hacker was threatening their holdings and convincing them to move their crypto to a new wallet. He would then access the funds and drain them.
Prosecutors said that the stolen crypto was swapped across exchanges and routed to mixers, gambling sites, and online storefronts. Investigators tied Spektor's home IP address to several drained wallets.