Teen defrauded cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin out of millions, suit alleges

A US cryptocurrency investor on Thursday sued a suburban New York high school senior, accusing the 18-year-old of being the mastermind and ringleader of a cybercrime scheme that defrauded him out of millions of dollars in digital currencies.

The plaintiff, Michael Terpin, accused Ellis Pinsky, of Irvington, NY, 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.

“On the surface, Pinsky is an ‘All American Boy,’” Terpin said in a complaint filed in federal court in White Plains, New York. “The tables are now turned.”

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…