An Indian National has been sentenced to 5 years in prison following his conviction for stealing over $20 million in a crypto fraud scheme involving fake crypto websites.
The United States Justice Department handed down the sentence while confirming that the convicted person would spend 2 years of supervised release following his sentence.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Indian national Chirag Tomar to 60 months in prison for defrauding US citizens of $20 million worth of crypto assets.
The US Justice Department announced the sentencing in a press release revealing details of the sentence and other important information.
A citizen of the Republic of India was sentenced to prison today for stealing more than $20 million from hundreds of victims through the use of fake or “spoofed” websites mimicking the cryptocurrency exchange website Coinbase.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from as early as June 2021, Tomar and his co-conspirators engaged in a spoofing scheme to steal millions in cryptocurrency from hundreds of victims located worldwide and in the United States, including in the Western District of North Carolina.
“Spoofing, as it pertains to cybercrime, is when a malicious cyber actor disguises an email address, sender name, or website URL to convince victims they are interacting with a trusted source. Court documents show that Tomar and his co-conspirators executed the fraud by spoofing Coinbase, one of the largest virtual currency exchanges in the world, that allows customers to buy, sell or trade cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase operated a “Pro” version of its exchange, which was found at the URL “Pro.Coinbase.Com.” According to court documents, Tomar and his co-conspirators spoofed the Coinbase Pro website by using a similar fake URL, CoinbasePro.Com, and created a fraudulent website to mimic the authentic website.
“Once victims entered their login credentials into the fake website, an authentication process was triggered. In some instances, victims were tricked into providing their login and authentication information for the real Coinbase website to fraudsters.
“Other times, victims were tricked into allowing fake Coinbase representatives to execute remote desktop software, which enabled fraudsters to gain control of victims’ computers and access their legitimate Coinbase accounts.
“The fraudsters also impersonated Coinbase customer service representatives and tricked the users into providing their two-factor authentication codes to the fraudsters over the phone. Once the fraudsters gained access to the victims’ Coinbase accounts, the fraudsters quickly transferred the victims’ Coinbase cryptocurrency holdings to cryptocurrency wallets under the fraudsters’ control.
The press release revealed that court documents explained in detail the modus operandi of Tomar and his co-conspirators.
Court documents revealed that, in February 2022, a victim in the Western District of North Carolina attempted to log into his Coinbase account through the fraudulent website.
The spoof website immediately notified the victim that his account was locked and prompted the victim to use a number provided to call a fake Coinbase representative.
The fake representative tricked the victim into providing his two-factor authentication information, ultimately gaining access to the victim’s real Coinbase account. Using the information, the fraudsters stole cryptocurrency from the victim’s Coinbase wallet worth over $240,000.
On December 20, 2023, Tomar was arrested at the Atlanta Airport upon entering the United States and was recently sentenced to 60 months in prison plus 2 years of supervised release.
What to Know
- Chirag Tomar the Indian national used the proceeds of his fraud scheme to fund an opulent lifestyle by buying expensive watches, Lamborghini’s, and Porsche. He also made a lot of trips to Dubai, Thailand, and other parts of the world.
- A German man facing a $150 million crypto fraud case in New York is on the run after skipping a hearing.
