AnIndiannationalhasbeensentencedtofiveyearsinprisonafterbeingconvictedofstealingmorethan$20millioninacryptofraudschemeinvolvingfakecryptowebsites.
U.S.DistrictJudgeKennethD.BellsentencedChiragTomar,a31-year-oldIndiancitizen,to60monthsinprison,theU.S.JusticeDepartmentannounced.Tomarwillalsoservetwoyearsofsupervisedreleasefollowinghissentence.
Hissentencingisthelatestconvictioninaseriesofsimilarfraudschemes.
Cryptofraudviaspoofedwebsite
AccordingtoDenaJ.King,U.S.AttorneyfortheWesternDistrictofNorthCarolina,Tomarstoleover$20millionfromhundredsofpeoplebydupingthemintousingfakeor“spoofed”websites.TheschemedatesbacktoJune2021.
TheprosecutionstatedthatTomarandco-conspiratorstargetedvictimsacrosstheworldandintheUnitedStates,byspoofingU.S.-basedcryptoexchangeCoinbase.
Spoofingisacybercrimewhereamaliciousactorusesdisguisetoconvincevictimsintothinkingtheyareusinganofficialortrusted–wheninfactit’safakeone.Inthiscase,TomarandothersusedafakeURLofCoinbase’scryptoexchangesite“Pro.Coinbase.Com”.TheyusedtheURLCoinbasePro.Com,completewithafraudulentwebsitethatunsuspectingvictimsunknowinglyallowedthecybercriminalstoaccesstheirauthenticationdetailsonCoinbase.
Usingremotedesktopsoftware,thefraudstersstolefromvictims,withsomecasesinvolvingimpersonationofCoinbasecustomersupportstaff.
CourtdocumentsrevealthataNorthCarolinacryptouserlostmorethan$240,000inFebruary2022.
Tomar,whousedthestolenfundstobuyluxuryvehiclesandfinancelavishtripstoDubaiandotherlocations,wasarrestedinDecember2023.HepleadedguiltytochargesincludingwirefraudconspiracyinMay2024.
Earlierthisweek,acourtintheU.S.sentenceda46-yearoldmanto20yearsinprisonovercryptofraud.
Meanwhile,aGermanmanfacinga$150millioncryptofraudcaseinNewYorkisontherunafterskippingahearing.
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