Brooklyn Man Who Bragged About $16M Coinbase Scam Gets Up to 12 Years
A 23-year-old Brooklyn man was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for a cryptocurrency fraud that stole nearly $16 million from about 100 Coinbase users nationwide. He posed as Coinbase support, warned victims their accounts were exposed to hackers, and convinced them to transfer funds to wallets he controlled. After victims moved the crypto, he drained it and laundered proceeds through exchanges, cash-out points, gambling sites, and online merchants. He pleaded guilty to all 31 charges, including money laundering and grand larceny. The court also ordered forfeiture of more than $500,000 in assets and nearly $16 million in restitution. Investigators linked him to the scheme through blockchain analysis, transaction records, seized devices, and his home IP address. Prosecutors said he openly bragged online, recruited others for social-engineering scams, and tried to evade detection by moving around the country before returning to Brooklyn and being arrested.
