Convicted crypto scammer Nicholas Truglia sentenced to additional 12 years in prison for failing to pay $20 million restitution: report
Powered by ChatGPTConvicted cryptocurrency scammer Nicholas Truglia has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for failing to pay restitution related to a $20 million crypto scam, reports Bloomberg.
Truglia was sentenced to 18 months in prison in December 2022. According to a Department of Justice report, Truglia participated in a scheme to gain illicit access to a victim's cryptocurrency wallet containing $20 million in assets by swapping the SIM card containing the victim's phone number. Truglia helped drain the victim's funds and convert the assets into Bitcoin.
He had pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and had served 12 months at the time of his 18-month sentencing. Truglia agreed pay the victim over $20 million in restitution, as the hearing revealed he held over $53 million in combined cryptocurrency, art, and jewelry, The Block previously reported.
However, subsequent court documents claim Truglia failed to pay anything toward the restitution he owed his victim. A court filing from April 25 asserted Truglia bought $92,000 worth of luxury goods such as designer hoodies, watches, and sneakers. "Of course, these assets don't amount to $20 million, but Mr. Truglia’s failure to give account to what he had and favoring his own indulgences over his obligation to pay is indicative of his intent never to pay his debt, his willfulness," the court document states.
United States District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who sentenced Truglia in 2022, claimed in a July 2 court document that Truglia "failed to pay restitution and actively evaded law enforcement and judicial efforts to enforce his restitution obligation,” and so “resentencing is appropriate.”
On July 9, Truglia's attorneys argued that Truglia did contribute toward his restitution by surrendering "every valuable asset he has access to," which included all of the money in a Wells Fargo bank account. His lawyers added that a re-sentencing violates Truglia's constitutional rights to due process and protection against double jeopardy.