- Crypto scammer gets 12 years for ignoring $20M restitution order
- Judge highlights Truglia’s lavish lifestyle and lack of repayment
- SIM-swapping attack led to $24M loss for investor Michael Terpin
Nicholas Truglia, who was found guilty of masterminding a high-profile crypto scam, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he defaulted on paying over 20 million dollars to his victim, Michael Terpin, as restitution. The court drastically escalated the initial 18-month sentence after finding Truglia guilty of wire fraud in 2022 for a SIM-swapping hack.
A jury convicted Truglia, 27, for participating in a scheme that defrauded crypto investors in the Bay Area, California. He and his accomplices took control of Terpin’s phone number, using SIM-swapping methods, and accessed and drained his cryptocurrency accounts. Terpin, a blockchain investor and CEO, had 24 million stolen in the hack.
Judge Cites Evasion and Lavish Lifestyle
Judge Alvin Hellerstein noted in the sentence that Truglia had flagrantly disregarded his own written promise to make reparation payments on many occasions. The judge said, “You did not pay a cent, not one cent,” and emphasized that Truglia had made no effort to repay the victim, despite having significant personal holdings.
According to court documents, Truglia had over $60 million worth of assets, including cryptocurrency, art, and jewelry, at the moment of the initial sentence. The judge said, You had no job, yet you were living in splendor, which was a reference to the affluent lifestyle that Truglia was leading as he avoided paying his debts.
The legal team of Truglia made an argument that he had given up all the available property, and most of the wealth he had was trapped in a Bitcoin wallet that he could not unlock. But these justifications were not convincing to Judge Hellerstein, who referred to the actions of Truglia as intentional avoidance of law enforcement as well as judicial enforcement of the restitution order.
SIM-Swapping Scheme and Legal Fallout
The scam entailed deceiving telecom workers to change the phone number of Terpin into a SIM card under the control of the hackers. This enabled the gang to circumvent the authentication tools and steal crypto holdings of Terpin.
Truglia pleaded guilty in 2021 to one count of wire fraud. The court initially mandated him to pay almost 20.4 million as restitution and imposed three years of supervised release, in addition to his jail term.
In 2019, the court awarded Terpin the full amount of damages after he filed a civil suit against Truglia and a $224 million case against his wireless carrier, citing negligence.
The defense team of Truglia has termed the new sentence as an extraordinary abuse of discretion and has said they will appeal. The case highlights the growing attention and harsh punishment of those found to be guilty of mass crypto robbery.
The post Crypto Scammer Sentenced to 12 Years for Ignoring $20M Restitution Order appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.