Sheepshead Bay man sentenced for stealing nearly $16M in cryptocurrency
“Today’s sentencing holds the defendant accountable for a brazen, long-running social engineering scam that amounted to a digital robbery of nearly 100 victims,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
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A Brooklyn man who stole nearly $16 million in cryptocurrency from Coinbase users across the country was sentenced Wednesday to four to 12 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Ronald Spektor, 23, of Sheepshead Bay, targeted about 100 Coinbase users nationwide while operating under the handle @lolimfeelingevil. Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy, sell and store digital assets.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, Spektor posed as a Coinbase representative and told victims that their accounts were at risk of being hacked. He then convinced them to transfer their cryptocurrency to what they believed were secure wallets under their control.
Instead, prosecutors say the wallets were accessible to Spektor, who drained the accounts and laundered the funds.
“Today’s sentencing holds the defendant accountable for a brazen, long-running social engineering scam that amounted to a digital robbery of nearly 100 victims,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Prosecutors say some victims lost $1 million or more, while Spektor openly bragged on apps like Discord and Telegram about his scamming heist.
Spektor pleaded guilty on Sept. 2 to the charges in a 31-count indictment in exchange for the promised sentence, despite prosecutors seeking a prison term of seven to 21 years.
He was also ordered to forfeit cash, cryptocurrency and personal property worth more than $500,000 and to make nearly $16 million in restitution.
