Sheepshead Bay Phisher Lands 4–12 Years After $16M "Coinbase" Calls Found Gambled Away

A 23-year-old Brooklyn man who impersonated Coinbase support and drained nearly $16 million from roughly 100 users has been sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. Ronald Spektor of Sheepshead Bay pleaded guilty on September 2 to a 31-count indictment covering first-degree money laundering, first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Justice Danny Chun imposed the indeterminate term on Wednesday over a prosecution request for seven to 21 years.

Spektor contacted victims claiming to work for Coinbase and warning that their assets were exposed to a hacker, the District Attorney's office said. The New York Times reported at his December arraignment that the scheme typically began with a victim's phone filling with alerts, followed by an email promising a call from the exchange, sometimes under the name James Wilson. Victims were persuaded to move their holdings to what they believed was a new wallet under their sole control; Spektor, who controlled the address, then emptied it. Losses totaled $15,944,000, with victims spread across the country and some losing $1 million or more.

Investigators tied the scheme to Spektor through transaction records, blockchain analysis, digital forensics and material seized under several search warrants. His home IP address was linked to multiple wallets that had received stolen funds, and prosecutors interviewed 70 victims. His phone contained 12 wallets tied to at least 140 deposits traced back to 90 people, one of which held about $6.3 million. Independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT named him in a November 2024 thread.

The funds were swapped repeatedly across exchanges before being consolidated at cash-out points and converted into other tokens, cash and gift cards, with large portions flowing to gambling services and online storefronts. Messages recovered by investigators showed Spektor writing in slang that he had lost $6 million in crypto gambling and suggesting he had made millions from scamming. Under the handle @lolimfeelingevil, he ran a Telegram channel called "Blockchain enemies" where he boasted about the thefts and used online forums to recruit others to act as social engineers, staging what appeared to victims as hacking attempts. After allegations began circulating online, he disposed of a hardware wallet, bought a replacement and told his helpers to replace their equipment.

Spektor, who lived with his father, must forfeit cash, crypto and property valued at more than half a million dollars and pay restitution of nearly $16 million.