Brooklyn Man Sentenced in $15.9 Million Coinbase Theft

Ronald Spektor was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison on September 23, 2026, after pleading guilty to all 31 counts in a case involving a cryptocurrency theft scheme that prosecutors said cost about 100 Coinbase users approximately $15.944 million. The court also ordered him to pay nearly $16 million in restitution and forfeit cash, cryptocurrency and personal property valued at more than $500,000. Spektor, 23, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, pleaded guilty on September 2. The charges included first-degree grand larceny, first-degree money laundering and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun imposed the prison term. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of seven to 21 years and objected to the shorter term, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Spektor contacted Coinbase users while pretending to be a company representative and warning that their accounts were at risk of being hacked. He persuaded them to transfer cryptocurrency to wallets they believed were secure and under their control, but which prosecutors said he could access.