A teenager was allegedly the ringleader of a million-dollar crypto scheme

A lawsuit has been brought to Ellis Pinsky — alongside his group of associates — for stealing millions of dollars from cryptocurrency accounts

To his friends and family, Ellis Pinsky seemed like any other teenage gamer. According to court papers, those close to him just assumed that he got lucky with Bitcoin.

Little did they know that Pinsky would soon find his way into the centre of a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scheme.

Pinsky was 15 years old when he allegedly started implementing the scheme, which he used to steal more than $100 million in cryptocurrency. The federal lawsuit points to him as “the ringleader” of “a sophisticated cybercrime spree.”

An insider told the New York Post that Pinsky’s best friend thought his newfound wealth had been gained through trading Bitcoin and stocks, while his parents believed that he had gotten incredibly lucky by winning Bitcoin from competitive gaming.

Pinsky, who is now 18 years old, is now being sued by cryptocurrency giant Michael Turpin. According to the lawsuit, he and several other unidentified people tricked him into losing $23,808,125. The report alleges that Pinsky also stole tens of millions from others who have not been identified in the complaint.

“Despite their wholesome appearances, Pinsky and his other cohorts are in fact evil computer geniuses with sociopathic traits who heartlessly ruin their innocent victims’ lives and gleefully boast of their multi-million-dollar heists.” the lawsuit reads.

Aside from attorney fees and other related costs, Terpin is seeking treble damages; three times the amount of the actual money lost.

Terpin revealed that his nickname for Pinsky is “Baby Al Capone,” on account of his “crypto gangster” activity.

It is alleged that Pinsky and his group of hackers gained access to their victim’s computers and subsequently, into their cryptocurrency accounts. They then stole and laundered the funds. In some cases, the lawsuit alleges that they went as far as to steal personal information to get access to these accounts.

From here, Pinsky reportedly spent his ill-gotten wealth on New York nights out and expensive watches.

Pinsky’s operations were put to a halt after Nicholas Truglia, an accomplice, was busted during a separate cryptocurrency theft from 2018. While Terpin sued Truglia separately, Truglia did identify Pinsky and several others as his peers in stealing cryptocurrency.

Noam Biale, Pinsky’s attorney, emphasizes how Pinsky was just a child at the time of the theft.

“It is deeply unfortunate that Mr. Terpin has chosen to bring [a] lawsuit, full of smears and baseless allegations, for no imaginable purpose other than spite,” Biale said.