Cryptocurrency investor sues a 15-yr-old boy accusing of $24M crypto theft

According to a lawsuit filed in New York, a 15-year-old hacker and his crew of “evil computer geniuses” stole nearly $24 million in cryptocurrency from an adviser to blockchain companies.

The plaintiff, Michael Terpin, accused Ellis Pinsky, of Irvington, New York, and his alleged co-conspirators of stealing $23.8 million of cryptocurrency in January 2018, when the defendant was 15, and is seeking triple damages of $71.4 million.

Pinsky could not immediately be reached for comment. Calls to a phone number for him obtained through court records and a public records search were not answered. It was unclear whether Pinsky has a lawyer.

Cryptocurrency crime is a growing problem, with losses soaring to $4.52 billion last year from $1.74 billion in 2018, according to cybersecurity company CipherTrace.

In his complaint, Terpin said Pinsky and his "gang of digital bandits" would steal from victims after gaining control of their smartphones through "SIM swaps," and that Pinsky bragged to friends that he would never get caught.

Terpin accused Pinsky and his alleged co-conspirators, none identified by name in the complaint, of violating federal laws against racketeering and computer fraud.

Terpin in May 2019 won a $75.8 million civil judgment in a related case in a California state court against Nicholas Truglia, an alleged Pinsky associate who has faced criminal hacking charges in California and New York.

Terpin said the New York charges relate to the $23.8 million theft. Terpin is also suing his carrier AT&T Mobility in Los Angeles for $240 million, court records show. A judge is considering AT&T's bid to dismiss that case, the records show.