Nicholas Truglia Gets 12 More Years for Crypto Scam Debt

Nicholas Truglia, a convicted cryptocurrency scammer, has been sentenced to an additional 12 years in prison for failing to make payments on a $20 million restitution order, according to Bloomberg. Initially sentenced to 18 months in December 2022, Truglia was found guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud by illicitly accessing a victim’s cryptocurrency wallet. This involved swapping the SIM card linked to the victim's phone number, allowing Truglia and his accomplices to drain the wallet, converting its contents into bitcoin. Upon pleading guilty, Truglia agreed to pay his victim over $20 million in restitution, despite holding more than $53 million worth of cryptocurrency, art, and jewelry. However, recent court documents indicate that Truglia made no payments toward this restitution and instead purchased luxury goods valued at $92,000, including designer clothing and watches. These actions suggested to the court that he intended to avoid payment. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein noted in a July 2 document that Truglia had failed to meet his restitution obligations and had actively evaded law enforcement’s attempts to enforce the order, justifying the resentencing. Truglia's legal team contended that he had surrendered valuable assets as part of his restitution and argued that the new sentencing violated his rights to due process. (Note: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.)