Brooklyn Man Sentenced for $16M Coinbase Phishing Scheme

Justice Danny Chun of the Brooklyn Supreme Court handed down the indeterminate sentence on Sept. 23, following Spektor’s guilty plea to all 31 counts of his indictment. These charges included first-degree money laundering, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property. Beyond the prison term, the court ordered Spektor to pay nearly $16 million in restitution and forfeit over $500,000 in seized assets, including cash and cryptocurrency.

The investigation, led by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Virtual Currency Unit, revealed a sophisticated operation where Spektor contacted victims via phone and email, falsely claiming their accounts were compromised. Once victims were panicked into moving their funds to supposedly secure wallets, Spektor drained the accounts and funneled the proceeds through mixing services and gambling platforms. Evidence recovered from his digital footprint, including Telegram and Discord activity under the handle @lolimfeelingevil, showed him discussing the thefts and recruiting co-conspirators. Coinbase collaborated with authorities throughout the yearlong probe, providing transaction records and identifying affected users to help build the case against the Brooklyn resident.