He was 15.
Stole $24 million in crypto.
Blew it on escorts, nightclubs, and a $100K Rolex.
Then the FBI came knocking.
This is the wildest SIM swap scam you’ve never heard of.
Crypto investor Michael Turpin had just left a conference.
Across the country, a group of teens bribed telecom workers and hijacked his phone number.
Leading them?
15-year-old Ellis Pinsky.
On a Skype call, Ellis launched scripts that scraped Turpin’s digital life—emails, cloud files, everything—hunting for wallet keys.
Then came the jackpot:
$900M in $ETH .
But it was locked.
So they dug deeper.
Hours later, Turpin checked his accounts.
His biggest wallet? Safe.
But $24M? Gone.
It became the largest individual SIM swap ever recorded.
Ellis was suddenly rich.
He bought a Rolex, hid it under his bed.
But trouble started fast.
One teammate ran off with $1.5M.
Another talked about hiring a hitman.
Ellis’s path started early:
Grew up in a tight NYC apartment
Got his first Xbox at 13
Joined hacker forums
Learned SQL injection
Sold rare Instagram accounts
But clout wasn’t enough.
He wanted cash.
SIM swapping gave him power:
Convince a telecom rep to transfer someone’s number to your SIM—
Control texts, 2FA, recovery codes.
From there:
Reset passwords.
Access emails.
Steal wallets.
But his ex-partner Truglia couldn’t keep quiet.
Tweeted things like: “Stole $24M. Still can’t keep a friend.”
He got caught fast.
Used his real name on Coinbase.
FBI swooped in.
Truglia went to prison.
Ellis? Returned most of the money.
Was underage.
Faced no charges.
Turpin sued him for $22M.
Then masked gunmen broke into his house.
Today, Ellis studies philosophy & CS at NYU.
Wants to build startups.
Repay his debt.
Leave the chaos behind.
By 15, he had:
– 562 $BTC
– Telecom insiders
– A lawsuit
– A hit on his life
And no clue what was coming next.
