A 19-year-old Canadian man and his alleged co-conspirator are facing charges in connection with a $13 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering scheme in South Florida, authorities said.
Trenton Richard David Johnston, who overstayed his visa and stayed in the U.S. illegally, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Monday.
Prosecutors said Johnston, while living in the Miami area, worked with other co-conspirators so impersonate support representatives from a popular search engine and cryptocurrency-related companies to gain unauthorized access to victims’ digital accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
Once they had access, they transferred the victim’s cryptocurrency for their own benefit, authorities said.
The losses to the victims exceed $13 million and other victims are still being identified, prosecutors said.
One co-conspirator, 28-year-old Brandon Michael Tardibone, of Miami, knowingly harbored Johnston while Johnston was unlawfully present in the U.S., prosecutors said, by providing him lodging at a luxury Miami-area residence so he could evade immigration authorities.
Johnston and Tardibone allegedly laundered the proceeds of the fraud scheme through a series of financial transactions designed to conceal the nature and source of the funds, prosecutors said.
The pair are accused of using more than $1 million in illicit proceeds to lease luxury vehicles, purchase high-end jewelry, and finance an extravagant nightlife and entertainment lifestyle.
Johnston is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Tardibone is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and harboring an alien in the U.S.
