A Brooklyn man was sentenced Wednesday to four to 12 years in prison for running a yearlong Coinbase phishing operation that stole nearly $16 million from about 100 users.
Ronald Spektor, 23, of Sheepshead Bay, pleaded guilty on Sept. 2 to a 31-count indictment including first-degree money laundering, first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Justice Danny Chun imposed the sentence over the objection of prosecutors, who had sought seven to 21 years.
Prosecutors said Spektor posed as a Coinbase representative and contacted users claiming their assets were at risk from a hacker. He persuaded them to move cryptocurrency to a new wallet they believed was under their control but was accessible to him. The scheme resulted in losses of $15,944,000. Victims were spread across the United States and came from a range of backgrounds; some lost $1 million or more.
The stolen assets were laundered by swapping them multiple times through different crypto exchanges until they were consolidated at cash-out points, where they were converted to other cryptocurrencies, cash, gift cards or used for gambling, prosecutors said. Investigators tied the scheme to Spektor through transaction records, blockchain analysis, digital forensics and search warrant evidence. His home IP address was linked to multiple wallets from which crypto was stolen.
Spektor also boasted about the thefts online. Under the handle @lolimfeelingevil he ran a Telegram channel called “Blockchain enemies” and recruited others to act as social engineers. Independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT had publicly named him in November 2024.
Prosecutors said Spektor spent months moving around the country by Greyhound bus, discussed leaving for Mexico or Canada and sent $600,000 in crypto to someone in Georgia before his arrest. Authorities seized $105,000 in cash and $400,000 in crypto at the time of arrest.
Spektor was ordered to forfeit cash, cryptocurrency and personal property worth more than $500,000 and pay nearly $16 million in restitution. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office would “follow the digital trail wherever it leads.” Coinbase has long been targeted by phishing operations; last year the company disclosed that criminals bribed overseas customer support agents to steal customer data, affecting less than 1% of monthly transacting users.
