Indian National Sentenced for $20 Million Crypto Fraud

Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian citizen, was sentenced to five years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme in which more than $20 million was stolen from hundreds of victims. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Dena J. Schmidt, represented the court.

Beginning in June 2021, Tomar and his co-conspirators ran a sophisticated spoofing operation that mimicked Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges Spoofing is a deceptive technique in which cybercriminals impersonate credible people and victims are tricked into revealing sensitive information according to the report . 

They created a fake website called CoinbasePro.com, which looked a lot like the genuine Coinbase Pro platform Pro.Coinbase.Com. Victims were tricked into entering their login information and two credentials, allowing the fraudsters to gain access to their real Coinbase accounts.

One notable case involved a victim in North Carolina who lost more than $240,000 by tricking fake agents into providing their authentic information. Tomar used stolen credentials to cash in his victims’ cryptocurrency pockets and then turned this wealth into money, including luxury cars, expensive watches, and travel to beautiful places to finance a luxurious lifestyle.

Tomar was arrested on December 20, 2023, upon entering the U.S. and pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy on May 20, 2024. He will serve his sentence followed by two years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney King praised the diligent efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI in bringing Tomar to justice.