A young man from Brooklyn is being prosecuted for stealing US$ 16 million in cryptocurrency from Coinbase users 😱
Ronald Spektor, 23, is accused of first-degree grand larceny and money laundering for a phishing scheme that operated between April 2023 and December 2024 📊.
*Scheme details:*
- Spektor posed as a representative of Coinbase and warned victims about alleged risks of hacking to their accounts
- He convinced victims to transfer their assets to new wallets that he secretly controlled
- Subsequently, he laundered the money through cryptocurrency mixing services, exchanges, and gambling platforms 💸
*Collaboration and investigation:*
- Coinbase collaborated with the Virtual Currency Unit of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office throughout the investigation
- The renowned blockchain researcher "ZachXBT" also contributed to identifying the suspect 🔍