He stole $24 million through a SIM swap scam—then blew it on escorts, nightclubs, and a $100,000 Rolex.
Soon after, the FBI came knocking.
It started when crypto investor Michael Turpin left a conference. Across the country, a group of teenage hackers bribed telecom workers to hijack his phone number. Leading the operation? Ellis.
On a Skype call, Ellis launched scripts that ripped through Turpin’s digital life—emails, cloud drives, anything that could lead to wallet keys.
And they struck gold:
$900 million worth of Ethereum.
But it was locked.
Digging deeper, they found $24 million that wasn’t.
Hours later, Turpin checked his accounts.
His main wallet? Untouched.
But $24 million? Gone.
It became the largest individual SIM swap ever recorded.
Ellis was suddenly rich.
He bought a Rolex and stashed it under his bed.
But the chaos came fast.
One accomplice ran off with $1.5 million.
Another casually discussed hiring a hitman.
Ellis’s journey started early:
Raised in a cramped NYC apartment
Got his first Xbox at 13
Joined hacker forums
Learned SQL injection
Flipped rare Instagram handles
But clout wasn’t enough. He wanted real money.
SIM swapping gave him power:
Bribe a telecom rep, steal a number, intercept texts, reset passwords—and empty wallets.
Still, not everyone could stay quiet.
Nicholas Truglia, one of Ellis’s partners, bragged online:
“Stole $24M. Still can’t keep a friend.”
He slipped up, used his real name on Coinbase, and the FBI caught him quickly.
Truglia went to prison.
Ellis? He returned most of the money, skated on charges thanks to his age, but got hit with a $22 million lawsuit from Turpin.
Things only got darker—masked gunmen once broke into his home.
Today, Ellis is a philosophy and CS major at NYU.
He says he’s building startups, trying to repay his debts, and leave his past behind.
By 15, Ellis Pinsky had:
562 Bitcoin
Telecom insiders on his payroll
A lawsuit
A target on his back
And no idea how close it all was to falling apart.🚀☠️💵
