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In the latest crypto investigation by US authorities, a Los Angeles man was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to his victims for orchestrating a series of scams in which he posed as an Apple support representative and stole non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency. 
Amir Hossein Golshan, age 25, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also ordered him to pay $1,218,526 in restitution. 
<h2 id="unmasking-the-scam">Unmasking The Scam</h2> 
According to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/sim-swapper-sentenced-eight-years-prison-campaign-fraud-and-deception-including" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">press release</a>, Golshan’s crimes, which involved subscriber identity module (SIM) swapping and social media account takeovers, targeted hundreds of victims over several years and caused approximately<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/crackdown-seoul-police-bust-14-million-crypto-scam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener "> $740,000 in losses</a>.&nbsp; 
By fraudulently inducing victims to disclose personal information, including their SIM card details and two-factor authentication codes, Golshan gained unauthorized access to their digital accounts.&nbsp; 
The investigation further alleges that Golshan then stole valuable digital assets, including <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/crypto-frauds-lose-ground-to-banking-scams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">NFTs </a>and cryptocurrency. As a result, Golshan caused significant “financial harm” to his victims. 
The Department of Justice highlighted the severity of Golshan’s actions, stating that his crimes went beyond <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/binance-ceo-accused-of-fraudulent-practices-brazil/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">mere monetary theft</a>. Prosecutors argued that Golshan’s wanton cruelty inflicted constant fear and worry upon his victims, demonstrating a “complete lack of respect” for the law and basic human dignity. 
<h2 id="stealing-nfts-and-crypto-worth-thousands">Stealing NFTs And Crypto Worth Thousands</h2> 
According to the DOJ, Golshan’s fraudulent tactics included impersonating Apple support personnel, allowing him to access victims’<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/hong-kong-issues-alert-about-message-phishing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener "> Apple iCloud accounts</a>.&nbsp; 
Golshan defrauded multiple individuals through this scheme and stole NFTs, cryptocurrency, and other valuable digital property. Golshan’s actions caused five victims to suffer losses ranging from $2,000 to $389,000 each. 
One example of Golshan’s<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/crypto-scam-cftc-lawsuit-against-mosaic-exchange/" target="_blank" rel="noopener "> modus operandi </a>involved calling a victim from Apple Support’s official telephone number, falsely claiming to be an Apple Support employee.&nbsp; 
Golshan then convinced the victim to disclose a two-step authentication code, granting him unauthorized access to the victim’s iCloud account. Subsequently, Golshan changed the account’s email address and proceeded to steal the victim’s NFT worth approximately $319,000, along with roughly $70,000 worth of crypto assets.&nbsp; 
According to the DOJ’s investigation, Golshan later sold the stolen NFT on an NFT marketplace for $130,000 in crypto. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large" src="https://www.tradingview.com/x/PZtJZe29/" alt="Crypto" width="1815" height="820"> 
According to CoinGecko <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts#:~:text=The%20global%20cryptocurrency%20market%20cap,a%20Bitcoin%20dominance%20of%2049.57%25." target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">data</a>, the current market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency market stands at $1.47 trillion, reflecting a 0.99% change over the last 24 hours and a significant 72.08% change compared to one year ago.&nbsp; 
Bitcoin (BTC) currently holds a market cap of $730 billion, accounting for a dominant 49.58% share of the overall cryptocurrency market while continuing to trade in its established range between $36,500 and $37,500. 
In contrast, Stablecoins holds a market cap of $129 billion, representing an 8.78% share of the total crypto market capitalization. 
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com&nbsp;

Crypto Scam Artist Obliged To Pay $1.2M For NFT Theft By Impersonating Apple Support

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