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Who Is Chirag Tomar? Indian National Handed Prison Sentence For $20 Million Coinbase Scam

By Alex Ioannou

Last Updated: Oct 18, 2024

Fact checked

By Sam Cooling

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Chirag Tomar ran a Coinbase Scam, the Indian scammer spent his victims funds on designer watches, luxury cars and expensive holidays...
Disclaimer Icon
Disclaimer

Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
99Bitcoins may receive advertising commissions for visits to a suggested operator through our affiliate links, at no added cost to you. All our recommendations follow a thorough review process.

Chirag Tomar has been sentenced to prison by the DOJ after stealing more than $20 million from hundreds of victims using a fake website, mimicking the digital asset exchange in a huge Coinbase Scam.

US District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced the 31-year-old Indian national to 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, Dena J. King, U.S.

Indian Scammer Used Stolen Funds On Designer Watches, Lamborghinis and Luxury Holidays

In a press release yesterday (October 17), The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Tomar had spent his victims’ funds on a lavish lifestyle. This included luxury purchases such as Audemars Piguet watches as well as Lamborghinis and Porsches. He also used the money to fund trips to Dubai and Thailand.

Chirag Tomar was arrested at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in December last year, upon returning to the US. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in May of this year. The Indian national remains in federal custody and will be transferred to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility once designated, the DOJ said.

Tomar Used A Fake Coinbase Website And On Occasion Posed As Customer Service To Carry Out $20 Million Heist

Beginning around June 2021, Tomar and his co-conspirators reportedly engaged in a spoofing scheme to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from victims worldwide.

They created a fake copycat website of Coinbase Pro using a similar URL to deceive unsuspecting users into entering their login credentials and two-factor authentication codes. This allowed Chirag Tomar and his team to access the victims’ actual Coinbase accounts.

Once the thieves accessed the victims’ Coinbase accounts, they transferred the digital assets to wallets under their control. Tomar and his crew quickly moved the stolen funds across multiple addresses in an attempt to cover their tracks before cashing out.

Another ploy used by the scammers saw them imitate Coinbase customer service representatives. They would trick users into providing authentication details over the phone or enabling remote desktop access to their computers, again giving them full access to more legitimate Coinbase accounts.

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Alex Ioannou
Alex Ioannou
On-Chain Journalist

Chasing dreams under the Cypriot sun, Alex is an up-and-coming writer focusing on the more degen side of the crypto market. Always on the lookout for the next hot narrative, meme coin pump, or meta trend. Alex has been actively... Read More

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