Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 12 Years for $16M Coinbase Phishing Scam
In brief
- Ronald Spektor posed as Coinbase support, targeting nearly 100 users and stealing $16 million total
- Victims lost up to $1 million each; Spektor gambled away $6 million in stolen crypto
- He bragged about thefts on Telegram under handle @lolimfeelingevil before law enforcement arrested him
- Judge Danny Chun sentenced Spektor to 4-12 years, below prosecutors' 7-21 year request
- Spektor must forfeit $500,000+ in assets and pay $16 million restitution to victims
The Scheme
Spektor contacted users claiming to work for Coinbase and told them their assets were exposed to a hacker. The victims, believing they were protecting their holdings, moved funds to wallets under Spektor's control. The total losses were $15,944,000, spread across the country. Some victims lost $1 million or more each.
Spektor recruited others to act as social engineers, staging what looked to victims like hacking attempts. Large portions of the stolen money went to gambling services and online storefronts. His phone held 12 wallets tied to at least 140 deposits traced back to 90 people, one holding about $6.3 million.
The Downfall
He pleaded guilty on September 2 to a 31-count indictment including first-degree money laundering, first-degree grand larceny, and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Justice Danny Chun imposed the sentence on Wednesday over the objection of prosecutors, who had asked for seven to 21 years.
Spektor's own messages became evidence against him. Messages recovered by investigators show him writing that he had lost $6 million in crypto gambling. Under the handle @lolimfeelingevil he ran a Telegram channel called "Blockchain enemies" where he boasted about the thefts.
Independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT named Spektor in a thread in November 2024. Prosecutors seized $105,000 in cash and $400,000 in crypto when he was arrested. He spent months moving around the country by Greyhound bus, discussed leaving for Mexico or Canada, and sent $600,000 in crypto to someone in Georgia before returning to Brooklyn, where he was arrested.
Restitution and Warning
Spektor must forfeit cash, crypto and property valued at more than half a million dollars and pay restitution of almost $16 million. Prosecutors interviewed 70 victims in the investigation.
"Coinbase and most companies will never call customers or ask them to move crypto to a safe wallet."
The warning is clear. No legitimate exchange reaches out unprompted asking you to move funds. If you get such a call or message, it's a scam.
