- Indian national sentenced for orchestrating a $20M crypto scam, targeting victims through fake Coinbase websites.
- Tomar and his team mimicked Coinbase Pro, tricking users into sharing login details, leading to massive cryptocurrency theft.
- Stolen funds were used for a lavish lifestyle, including luxury cars, watches, and international travel, before Tomar’s arrest.
An Indian national has been handed down a sentence for his part in a cryptocurrency scam that targeted more than $20 million from its victims. According to a recent report, the scam had fake websites which resembled the popular cryptocurrency exchange platform known as Coinbase.
Chirag Tomar, 31 years old, was given a 60 months imprisonment. Upon his release from prison, he will be supervised for two years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said.
Crypto Fraud Targets Coinbase
Tomar and his fellow travelers began the operation in June 2021. They developed fake websites that had almost the similar look as the original Coinbase website. These fake sites mimic Coinbase, the enterprising criminals cajoled users into providing their login information and password; the crooks then got access to the users’ actual Coinbase accounts.
The fake websites specifically focused on Coinbase Pro that is an advanced herd of the exchange. The same URL, ‘CoinbasePro.Com,’ instead of the actual one, ‘Pro.Coinbase.Com,’ the scam affected hundreds of users globally. Tomar’s team used tactics to get victims to disclose their personal information such as two factor authentication codes.
Some of the scammers pretended to be Coinbase employees and obtained control of user’s computers remotely. After gaining control, they immediately moved the cryptocurrency of the victims to the wallets controlled by them. In North Carolina for instance, one victim was defrauded of over two hundred and forty thousand dollars this way.
Crypto Funds Laundered Globally
In turn, Tomar was able to change the stolen cryptocurrency into another type of cryptocurrency. He then transferred the money into the different wallets in an attempt to cover the track of the money. Finally the cryptocurrency was sold and the obtained money was spent on Tomar’s expensive and luxurious lifestyle.
He used the stolen money to buy watches, cars and went to Dubai and Thailand for vacation. Tomar was arrested on December 2023 at Atlanta’s airport when he was traveling to United States. He was charged with wire fraud conspiracy and entered his guilty plea on May 2024.
Tomar will continue to be held in federal custody and will be moved to a federal penitentiary to complete his time. US officials have welcomed the outcome of this case, noting that cybercrime is fast becoming rife in the cryptocurrency industry.
The case also comes as a reminder for the need to exercise some caution when using online exchanges. This include reminding the users to be aware of frauds and that they are not dealing with fake websites. Despite the tremendous opportunity that this specific industry holds for growth and innovation, it is still very much a minefield for fraudsters to dupe naive consumers.
