An Indian man received a 5-year sentence for a multi-million fraud involving a fake Coinbase website. The 2-year scheme took over $20 million in crypto from hundreds of victims, which was used to fund the fraudster’s lavish lifestyle.
Indian National To Serve 5-Year Sentence
On Thursday, the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced that an Indian man was sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing over $20 million using a spoofed website imitating crypto exchange Coinbase’s platform.
US District Judge Kenneth D. Bell ordered Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian National, to serve 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. The sentence follows the defendant’s guilty plea to the wire fraud charge in May.
Tomar was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The US Secret Service identified the Indian man because of an email account using his real name. According to the court documents, Tomar communicated with his co-conspirators and applied for a US travel visa using this account.
Additionally, he managed a spreadsheet with the details of his victims, including how much had been stolen from them, and used fraudulently obtained identity documents to open Binance accounts.
Fake Coinbase Website Swipes $20 Million
Starting in June 2021, the Indian national, alongside his co-conspirators, spoofed the Coinbase Pro Website to trick the crypto exchange’s users. The fraudsters used a similar URL and mimicked the authentic website, managing to scam over 500 victims in two years.
Once they entered the Coinbase fake website, the victims were tricked into providing their login credentials and authentication information. At times, Tomar and the other fraudsters posed as Coinbase’s customer service to obtain the victim’s two-factor authentication codes.
In other instances, users were deceived into allowing “Coinbase representatives” to execute remote desktop software to obtain access to their computers and accounts. After gaining full access, Tomar drained the victim’s holdings, transferring the ill-gotten crypto to wallets under his control.
Per the court documents, a victim from the Western District of North Carolina lost $240,000 in crypto to the fraudsters’ scheme. The documents also revealed that Tomar used the stolen funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle, traveling to Dubai, Thailand, and London.
Additionally, he purchased multiple luxury items, including expensive watches and high-end vehicles like Lamborghini and Porsches. On December 20, 2023, Tomar was arrested at the Atlanta airport when he traveled to the US to visit family.
Recently, Coinbase cautioned crypto investors about a concerning trend within the sector. As reported by Bitcoinist, the crypto exchange revealed that scammers began targeting Gen Z users through social media apps like TikTok and Instagram.
The report noted that social media scams have increased, targeting users with and without knowledge about crypto. Users should remain alert about any suspicious activity or requests from online users and websites, as phishing remains the largest scam type within the industry.
Total crypto market capitalization is at $2.29 trillion in the weekly chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView