Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Stealing $22 Million in Cryptocurrency Through SIM Swap

On July 12, it was reported that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein increased Nicholas Truglia's sentence to 12 years due to his failure to fulfill the agreement to pay $20.4 million in restitution to the victim. Truglia pleaded guilty in 2021, admitting his involvement in defrauding Michael Terpin, CEO of blockchain consulting firm Transform Group. The scheme involved deceiving telecom company employees into transferring Terpin's phone number to a SIM card controlled by hackers, thereby gaining access to his cryptocurrency accounts. Truglia was responsible for converting the stolen funds into Bitcoin.