Who is Ronald Spektor? New York Coinbase Scam Mastermind That Stole $15.9M

Everyone is asking the same question today.

‘Who is Ronald Spektor?’ Spektor, 23, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was sentenced on September 23, 2026, by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to four to 12 years in prison for orchestrating a Coinbase phishing and social engineering scheme that prosecutors said stole roughly $15.944M from about 100 users.

Spektor pleaded guilty on September 2, 2026, to the entire 31-count indictment, closing out a case the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office had spent about a year building around one of the more elaborate cryptocurrency theft operations to hit Coinbase’s retail customer base.

COINBASE SCAMMER STEALS $16M, LOSES $6M GAMBLINGRonald Spektor, 23, has been sentenced to 4–12 years in prison after stealing nearly $16 million from around 100 Coinbase users through social engineering scams.Prosecutors say he bragged about the thefts on Telegram as… pic.twitter.com/BKaGj6nBHA— Defraud (@DefraudTG) September 24, 2026 The plea covered first-degree grand larceny, first-degree money laundering, first-degree criminal possession of stolen property and related counts.