Brooklyn Man Who Bragged About $16M Coinbase Scam Gets Up to 12 Years

In brief

• Ronald Spektor, 23, was sentenced to four to 12 years after pleading guilty to all 31 counts against him.
• He took nearly $16 million from around 100 Coinbase users by telling them their funds were at risk from a hacker.
• Prosecutors had sought seven to 21 years, and the sentence was imposed over their objection.

A 23-year-old from Sheepshead Bay has been sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for stealing $16 million from nearly 100 Coinbase users, after posing as a representative of the exchange and persuading them to move their funds somewhere he controlled.

Ronald Spektor contacted users claiming to work for Coinbase and telling them their assets were exposed to a hacker, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.

The sequence began with a victim's phone filling up with alerts, the New York Times reported at his arraignment in December, followed by an email promising a call from the exchange, sometimes under the name James Wilson. Victims then moved their holdings to what they understood to be a new wallet under their sole control. It was accessible to Spektor, who emptied it.

He pleaded guilty on September 2 to the entire 31-count indictment, including first-degree money laundering, first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Justice Danny Chun imposed the sentence on Wednesday over the objection of prosecutors, who had asked for seven to 21 years. Spektor must also forfeit cash, crypto and property valued at more than half a million dollars, and pay restitution of almost $16 million.