The United States has sentenced a cryptocurrency fraudster to five years in prison for creating a fake website called Coinbase
Chirag Tomar, an Indian citizen, was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison for masterminding a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam by creating a fake Coinbase website.
Chilag Tomar pays the price for a cryptocurrency scam According to an Oct. 17 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of North Carolina, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell further sentenced Tomar, 31, to two years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Tomar and anonymous co-conspirators orchestrated a years-long digital asset scam starting in 2021 by creating multiple fake websites similar to web addresses to defraud Coinbase customers, successfully "impersonating" the cryptocurrency exchange and stealing more than $20 million.
"Once the victim enters his login credentials on the fake website, the authentication process is triggered," the press release reads. "In some cases, victims were tricked into providing the scammers with their login and authentication information on the real Coinbase website."
In other cases, victims were tricked into allowing fake Coinbase representatives to execute remote desktop software, and the scammers were thus able to take control of the victims' computers and access their real Coinbase accounts.
In addition, Tomar and his associates would pose as Coinbase representatives to defraude victims of their funds over the phone.
Once these cryptocurrency scammers gain access to customer accounts, they transfer illicit funds into wallets they control.
Fraudsters impersonating Coinbase stole millions from victims' wallets In one case, a victim in the western district of North Carolina lost $240,000 after being told by a fake Coinbase representative that his account was locked.
Tomar then moved the cryptocurrency into "hundreds" of different wallets under his jurisdiction, through which tens of millions of dollars flowed.
The digital asset scammer eventually converted the value of the tokens into cash and distributed the money to the scam gang members.
According to authorities, Tomar and associates used clients' money to live a "lavish lifestyle," buying expensive watches and luxury cars and traveling abroad.
Tomar was arrested in December 2023 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in May 2024. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
He has not been assigned to a specific federal correctional facility to serve his sentence.















