Canadian Crypto Criminal Jailed Again in US After $1M Scam—Following $48M Theft
Crypto's bad boy is back behind bars—and this time, he didn't even need a bull market to pull it off.
Just months after serving time for a massive $48 million digital asset heist, the same Canadian national has been sentenced again in the US for orchestrating a fresh $1 million scam. Because why quit while you're ahead when you can double down and get caught twice?
From Heist to Repeat Offense
Authorities say the latest scheme involved fake investment platforms and classic too-good-to-be-token returns. Targets included retail investors—the same folks still waiting on that “financial revolution” to actually revolutionize their portfolios.
No sophisticated tech, no flashy DeFi exploits—just old-school greed meets new-school assets. Some things never change, even in a “trustless” ecosystem.
Active investigations continue as regulators play whack-a-mole with serial scammers. Meanwhile, the rest of us keep buying the dip—and the narrative.
US Prosecutors Label Canadian Hacker a ‘Serial Online Fraudster’
In court filings, US prosecutors branded him a “serial online fraudster” who had willingly plunged himself into cybercrime.
His legal team painted a different picture, one of a troubled Ontario youth shaped by the internet, seeking validation in online communities.
The 2020 theft shocked authorities. He had impersonated Jones to manipulate his telecom provider into reassigning the SIM card tied to Jones’ phone.
With access to two-factor authentication codes, he drained the entrepreneur’s wallet and laundered the funds.
A clue that led police to the teen was his purchase of the PlayStation username “God” shortly after the heist, paid for with stolen bitcoin.
The digital trail led authorities to a PlayStation console in his home, sealing the link.
Despite a public apology and a pledge to change, court documents reveal the young man returned to fraud almost immediately.
US attorneys say that during his release, he and co-conspirators manipulated staff at X into giving them access to high-profile accounts. They then promoted fake crypto raffles, draining users’ wallets through phishing sites.
7% of Canadians who reported owning crypto assets in 2023 used their crypto to pay a ransom, according to a recent survey by the Ontario Securities Commission.
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The new wave of thefts, combined with his ongoing mental health struggles and drug use following juvenile detention, formed the basis for his most recent sentencing in Virginia.
He has been ordered to pay $320,000 in restitution and an $83,000 fine.
His American defense lawyer, Stuart Sears, emphasized that his client now understands the damage he caused. “He is painfully aware of the errors in his judgment,” Sears wrote.
The man is expected to be deported to Canada after serving his US sentence.
Investor Loses $3M in Crypto Phishing Scam
As reported, a cryptocurrency investor has fallen victim to a phishing scam, losing $3.05 million in Tether (USDT) after unknowingly signing a malicious blockchain transaction.
The loss, flagged by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain on Wednesday, underscores the rising threat of phishing attacks targeting digital asset holders.
The attacker exploited a common habit among crypto users: validating only the first and last few characters of a wallet address while ignoring the middle.
Crypto investors lost over $2.2 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, driven largely by wallet compromises and phishing attacks, according to CertiK’s latest security report.
Wallet breaches alone caused $1.7 billion in losses across just 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for over $410 million across 132 attacks.
