An Indian man named Chirag Tomar has been sent to jail for 5 years because he stole more than $20 million using fake cryptocurrency websites.
The U.S. Justice Department said he will also be watched for 2 more years after his time in jail is over. This decision was given by U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell.
The Justice Department shared this news in a report, explaining what happened and why Chirag was punished.
Chirag and his team made fake websites that looked like the real cryptocurrency exchange website called Coinbase. Many people gave their money without knowing they were being tricked.
Starting from June 2021, Chirag and his friends created fake websites and pretended to be a trusted site to cheat people in the U.S. and other countries.
Spoofing is when someone makes a fake website or email look real. In this case, Chirag made a fake website called “CoinbasePro.Com,” which looked like the real “Pro.Coinbase.Com” website that people usually use to trade cryptocurrencies.
Once people put their passwords and login IDs into the fake site, Chirag and his friends could trick them to get their real login information for Coinbase, the real site.
They even pretended to be Coinbase help service and asked people for secret codes over the phone to control their accounts.
One person from North Carolina tried to log into his Coinbase account in February 2022, but he ended up on Chirag’s fake website instead. The fake site said his account was locked and told him to call a fake help service number.
The fake helper then made him give away his secret codes, allowing them to steal over $240,000 from his real Coinbase account.
Chirag was arrested on December 20, 2023, at the Atlanta Airport when he came to the U.S. He has now been sentenced to 5 years in prison with an additional 2 years where he will be supervised.
Things to Remember Â
- Chirag spent all the stolen money on living a luxurious life, buying fancy watches and cars like Lamborghinis and Porsches. He also traveled a lot to places like Dubai and Thailand.
- In New York, a man from Germany who is involved in a $150 million crypto fraud case has run away and is not attending court hearings.