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Cryptocurrency News Articles
Indian National to Serve 5-Year Sentence for Stealing $20M Using Fake Coinbase Website
Oct 19, 2024 at 01:30 pm
The 2-year scheme took over $20 million in crypto from hundreds of victims, which was used to fund the fraudster's lavish lifestyle.
An Indian national has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme involving a fake Coinbase website. The scheme, which spanned two years, netted over $20 million in cryptocurrency from hundreds of victims.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina on Thursday, Chirag Tomar, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell to 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Tomar pleaded guilty to the wire fraud charge in May.
Tomar was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The U.S. Secret Service identified the Indian man through an email account that used his real name. Court documents state that Tomar communicated with his co-conspirators and applied for a U.S. travel visa using this account.
He also maintained a spreadsheet detailing his victims, including the amounts stolen from them, and used fraudulently obtained identity documents to open Binance accounts.
Starting in June 2021, the Indian national and his co-conspirators spoofed the Coinbase Pro website to scam users of the crypto exchange. The fraudsters used a similar URL and mimicked the authentic website, managing to scam over 500 victims in two years.
Once they visited the fake Coinbase website, the victims were tricked into providing their login credentials and authentication information. In some cases, Tomar and the other fraudsters posed as Coinbase customer service to obtain the victim’s two-factor authentication codes.
In other instances, users were deceived into allowing “Coinbase representatives” to operate remote desktop software to gain access to their computers and accounts. After obtaining full access, Tomar drained the victim’s holdings, transferring the ill-gotten crypto to wallets under his control.
According to court documents, a victim from the Western District of North Carolina lost $240,000 in crypto to the fraudsters’ scheme. The documents also state that Tomar used the stolen funds to finance his lavish lifestyle, traveling to Dubai, Thailand, and London.
He also purchased several luxury items, including expensive watches and high-end vehicles such as Lamborghini and Porsches. Tomar was arrested on December 20, 2023, at the Atlanta airport while traveling to the U.S. to visit family.
In recent news, Coinbase warned crypto investors about a troubling trend in the industry. As reported by Bitcoinist, the crypto exchange revealed that scammers have begun targeting Gen Z users through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
The report stated that social media scams have increased, impacting users both knowledgeable and unaware of crypto. Users should be vigilant regarding any suspicious activity or requests from online users and websites, as phishing remains the most common scam type in the industry.
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