Canadian gets 25 months over $13M crypto theft scheme

A federal court in Miami has sentenced 20-year-old Canadian citizen Trenton Johnston to 25 months in prison over a scheme that stole more than $13M in cryptocurrency. The sentence was handed down on Oct. 26, according to CBC and Cryptopolitan. Johnston pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Details

Prosecutors said Johnston and accomplices impersonated support staff from a major search engine and crypto companies to gain access to victims' accounts and wallets, then moved the funds for personal use. That is laid out in the IRS Criminal Investigation release on the May 2026 indictment in the Southern District of Florida: victim losses were estimated at over $13M, and more than $1M went on luxury car leases, jewelry and nightlife. CBC reports that one episode involved 185 BTC taken from a victim in California.

Prosecutors had sought 51 to 63 months; the sentence is less than half that. His lawyer attributed it to Johnston admitting his conduct quickly and assisting the investigation of other suspects. About $3.8M of the stolen funds was recovered. Johnston was arrested in March, and roughly seven months in custody count toward the term. A wire fraud conspiracy charge was dropped.

A co-defendant, Miami resident Brandon Tardibone, faces money laundering and alien-harboring charges; the sources do not report a sentence for him.

What it means for the market

The case is a reminder that the most common way crypto is stolen is not a protocol exploit but social engineering, where victims are talked into handing over wallet access. Legitimate support never asks for a seed phrase or recovery codes. It has no direct effect on prices. For live BTC, see the daily brief; coin page: Bitcoin.