An Indian national has been sentenced to five years in prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that defrauded victims of over $20 million through the creation of counterfeit crypto websites.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down the sentence to Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old citizen of India, as announced by the U.S. Justice Department. In addition to his prison sentence, Tomar will undergo two years of supervised release following his incarceration.
This case marks the latest conviction in a troubling trend of similar cryptocurrency fraud schemes.
Cryptocurrency Fraud Through Spoofed Websites
According to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Dena J. King, Tomar deceived hundreds of individuals globally, stealing over $20 million by creating counterfeit or “spoofed” websites. The fraudulent activities trace back to June 2021.
The prosecution revealed that Tomar and his accomplices falsely impersonated U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange services, specifically spoofing the well-known platform.
Spoofing is a type of cybercrime in which offenders disguise themselves to mislead victims into believing they are interacting with legitimate services. In this instance, Tomar and his team used a fraudulent URL imitating the crypto exchange site, leading unsuspecting users to disclose sensitive authentication details.
Utilizing remote desktop software, the fraudsters exploited their victims, with some incidents involving impersonation of customer support representatives.
Court documents highlighted a case where a North Carolina crypto user lost more than $240,000 in February 2022 due to these deceptive practices.
Tomar used the stolen funds to purchase luxury vehicles and fund extravagant trips to locations like Dubai before his arrest in December 2023. He subsequently pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges in May 2024.
In recent developments, a 46-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for similar crypto fraud activities, while a German national facing a $150 million crypto fraud case is currently evading authorities after missing a court appearance.
