An Indian man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for a multi-million dollar scam via a fake Coinbase website. The two-year scheme took more than $20 million in cryptocurrency from hundreds of victims, which was used to fund the scammer’s lavish lifestyle.
An Indian citizen is serving a 5-year prison sentence
On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina Announce An Indian man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing more than $20 million using a fraudulent website imitating the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bill Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian national, was ordered to spend 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. The sentencing follows the defendant’s guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud in May.
Tomar was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, each punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The US Secret Service identified the Indian man because of an email account using his real name. According to court documents, Tomar communicated with his co-conspirators and applied for a US visa using this account.
In addition, he ran a spreadsheet containing his victims’ details, including the amount stolen from them, and used fraudulently obtained identity documents to open Binance accounts.
Fake Coinbase steals $20 million
Starting in June 2021, the Indian national, along with his co-conspirators, spoofed Coinbase Pro to defraud users of the cryptocurrency exchange. The scammers used a similar URL and mimicked the original website, scamming more than 500 victims in two years.
Once on the fake Coinbase website, victims were tricked into providing their login credentials and authentication information. Sometimes, Tomar and other scammers posed as Coinbase customer service to obtain the victim’s two-factor authentication codes.
In other cases, users were tricked into allowing “Coinbase representatives” to execute remote desktop programs to access their computers and accounts. After gaining full access, Tomar depleted the victim’s assets, transferring the illegally obtained cryptocurrencies to wallets under his control.
According to court documents, a victim from the Western District of North Carolina lost $240,000 in cryptocurrency in the scammers’ scheme. The documents also revealed that Tomar used the stolen money to pay for his lavish lifestyle, traveling to Dubai, Thailand and London.
In addition, he purchased many luxury items, including expensive watches and high-end cars such as Lamborghini and Porsche. On December 20, 2023, Tomar was arrested at the Atlanta airport when he traveled to the United States to visit his family.
Recently, Coinbase warned cryptocurrency investors of a worrying trend within the sector. As reported by Bitcoinist, the cryptocurrency exchange revealed that scammers have begun targeting Gen Z users through social media apps like TikTok and Instagram.
The report noted that scams on social media have increased, targeting users with or without knowledge of cryptocurrencies. Users should remain alert about any suspicious activity or requests from online users and websites, as phishing remains the largest type of fraud in the industry.
Total crypto market capitalization is at $2.29 trillion in the weekly chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView
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