An Indian National Sentenced for $20 Million Fraud
An Indian national was sentenced to prison after stealing over $20 million from victims via a spoofed website mimicking the crypto exchange Coinbase, according to the United States Department of Justice.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Chirag Tomar, 31, to 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, and Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, announced the sentencing on Thursday.
Tomar reportedly spent victims' funds on a lavish lifestyle, including luxury items like Audemars Piguet watches and expensive cars such as Lamborghinis and Porsches. He also financed trips to destinations like Dubai and Thailand.
He was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on December 20, 2023, upon entering the United States. On May 20, 2024, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Tomar remains in federal custody and will be transferred to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility once designated, the DOJ reported.
U.S. Attorney King praised the U.S. Secret Service for investigating the case and thanked the FBI in Nashville for their assistance.
Spoofing Coinbase
According to court filings and Thursday’s sentencing hearing, starting at least in June 2021, Tomar and his co-conspirators engaged in a spoofing scheme to steal millions in cryptocurrency from victims worldwide, including those in the United States. They created a fraudulent website that mimicked Coinbase Pro under a similar URL to deceive users into entering their login credentials and two-factor authentication codes, allowing them access to legitimate Coinbase accounts.
Alternatively, by posing as Coinbase customer service representatives, they tricked users into providing authentication details over the phone or enabling remote desktop access to their computers, facilitating the theft of their cryptocurrency.
Once the scammers accessed victims' accounts, they transferred the cryptocurrency to wallets under their control. The stolen funds were then moved across multiple addresses, converted into other forms of cryptocurrency, and eventually cashed out. One victim from North Carolina lost over $240,000 due to the fraudulent scheme.
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