Canadian Steals 34 Million in Cryptocurrency Then Strikes Again While on Bail

A crypto thief from Hamilton has been handed a one-year prison sentence after admitting to a series of thefts that began when he was still a teenager. The case has drawn attention across Canada, not only for the size of the thefts but also for the audacity of the schemes.

Good to Know

• The man stole CAD $48 million (USD $34.6 million) from a single victim at age 17.
• He later netted another CAD $1 million ($722,000) from 200 more victims.
• He was caught after trying to buy a PlayStation username with stolen Bitcoin.

Court records show that his original crime may be one of the largest crypto thefts in Canadian history. At just 17, he managed to take control of a victim’s accounts by convincing a phone provider to reassign their SIM card. With text-based two-factor codes now routed to him, he gained access to online wallets holding CAD $48 million in crypto. Those funds were moved into his own accounts and laundered. Investigators say the trail eventually went cold—most of the stolen assets remain unaccounted for.

His undoing came when he transferred some Bitcoin to another gamer to secure the PlayStation username “God.” That small slip exposed a link between the theft and his personal activities, giving police the break they needed.

But the story didn’t end there. Released on bail in May 2022, the man turned back to fraud. This time, he hijacked X accounts with large followings and posted links to scam websites. By tricking people into clicking through, he once again siphoned crypto from unsuspecting victims. In that second wave, he added CAD $1 million more to his tally, spread across 200 people.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported that the man has since pleaded guilty to both the original SIM swap case and the scams he ran while awaiting trial. His one-year sentence marks a chapter in a saga that prosecutors say highlights how quickly cybercriminals can adapt their schemes.