PANews reported on July 11 that cryptocurrency scammer Nicholas Truglia was sentenced to an additional 12 years in prison for failing to pay $20 million in compensation related to his scam. In December 2022, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for participating in a SIM card swapping scheme, illegally acquiring a cryptocurrency wallet containing $20 million in assets, and assisting in transferring funds to be exchanged for Bitcoin. He had already served 12 months at that time and admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
A previous hearing revealed that Truglia held over $53 million in assets and agreed to pay over $20 million in compensation. However, court documents stated that he had not paid a dime and instead purchased $92,000 in luxury goods. Judge Alvin Hellerstein pointed out that Truglia had not paid compensation and was evading law enforcement, making the revised sentence appropriate. On July 9, Truglia's attorney argued that he had surrendered all valuable assets to fulfill his compensation obligation, claiming that the revised sentence violated his due process rights and protection against double jeopardy.
