Bitrabo Editorial
An individual from India has been sentenced to five years in prison for a fraudulent scheme that involved a counterfeit Coinbase website, resulting in losses exceeding $20 million in cryptocurrencies from numerous victims, which funded his extravagant lifestyle.
Indian National Receives Five-Year Prison Term
The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced on Thursday that a 31-year-old man from India has been sentenced to five years behind bars for embezzling over $20 million through a fraudulent website designed to imitate the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
Chirag Tomar, who pled guilty to a wire fraud charge in May, is to serve a 60-month prison term, followed by two years of supervised release, as ordered by US District Judge Kenneth D. Bell.
Tomar faced charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The US Secret Service tracked him down due to an email account that included his real name. Court documents indicate that he used this account to communicate with co-conspirators and to apply for a US travel visa.
Additionally, he kept records of his victims, detailing the amounts stolen from each, and used fraudulently acquired identity documents to create accounts on Binance.
Counterfeit Coinbase Website Defrauds Users of $20 Million
Beginning in June 2021, Tomar and his associates launched a scheme using a spoofed version of the Coinbase Pro Website to deceive users of the cryptocurrency exchange. This operation ensnared over 500 individuals in just two years.
Victims who accessed the fake Coinbase site were misled into providing their login credentials and personal authentication information. On several occasions, Tomar and his team impersonated Coinbase customer service representatives to acquire the victims’ two-factor authentication codes.
In other scenarios, victims were tricked into allowing supposed “Coinbase representatives” to remotely access their computers. Once they gained complete access, Tomar would transfer the stolen cryptocurrency to wallets he controlled.
According to the court filings, one victim from the Western District of North Carolina lost $240,000 in crypto due to this scam. The documents also illustrate that Tomar used the criminal proceeds to support his lavish lifestyle, traveling to luxurious destinations such as Dubai, Thailand, and London.
Moreover, he indulged in expensive luxuries, including high-end watches and flashy cars like Lamborghinis and Porsches. Tomar was apprehended on December 20, 2023, at Atlanta’s airport while visiting family in the US.
Recently, Coinbase warned cryptocurrency investors about a troubling rise in scams, particularly those targeting younger users through platforms like TikTok and Instagram, as reported by Bitrabo.
The report highlighted an uptick in social media-related scams that affect users regardless of their crypto knowledge. Investors are urged to stay vigilant against any dubious online activities or requests, as phishing remains the predominant form of scams in the cryptocurrency realm.
