Indian Resident Pleads Guilty to Producing Counterfeit Coinbase Website, Stealing $9.5M in Cryptocurrency
An Indian man has admitted to U.S. charges claiming that he fabricated a fraudulent version of Coinbase’s website, allowing him to pilfer login credentials from legitimate users and abscond with over $9.5 million worth of digital currency from numerous victims.
Chirag Tomar, age 30, was apprehended at the Atlanta airport on December 20, 2023, while visiting his relatives on a travel visa. He faces accusations of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in money laundering, both of which carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Seamus Hughes of CourtWatch initially raised the alert regarding Tomar’s case.
According to court records submitted in the Western District of North Carolina, Tomar and his co-conspirators designed an imitation version of Coinbase Pro’s website to deceive Coinbase customers into divulging their login information. Approximately 542 individuals fell victim to the scam between June 2021 and Tomar’s arrest in late 2023.
The U.S. Secret Service was able to identify Tomar as a member of the criminal network due to his use of an email account under his real name to communicate with known and unknown co-conspirators involved in the fraud. Moreover, he maintained a spreadsheet documenting his victims and the amount of cryptocurrency siphoned from each, in addition to dispatching “stolen or fraudulently obtained” identification documents to other email addresses employed when opening accounts at Binance, an alternative cryptocurrency exchange.
Between June 2021 and October 2022, internet search records indicate that Tomar conducted searches for phrases like “fake coinbase page,” “coinbase scam,” “scams in the USA,” and “how to take money from coinbase without OTP” (one-time password).
Interestingly, Tomar employed the same email address when applying for his travel visa to the United States.
Using the illicit proceeds from his fraudulent activities, Tomar financed a lavish lifestyle, acquiring luxury watches from brands such as Rolex and Audemars Piguet, as well as indulging in high-end vehicles like Lamborghinis and Porsches. Additionally, he embarked on extravagant trips to destinations like London, Dubai, and Thailand.