12-Year Prison Sentence for Nicholas Truglia: How Defiance Over $20M Crypto Restitution Backfired

Crypto scammer Nicholas Truglia’s initial prison term has been drastically extended after a dramatic courtroom revelation exposed his continued attempts to shield stolen cryptocurrency. What started as an 18-month sentence has now ballooned to 12 years—a staggering increase that far exceeds standard federal guidelines recommending 51 to 63 months for similar offenses.

The Breaking Point: A Recorded Admission

The turning point came when Senior Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein viewed damaging footage of Truglia speaking through a voice mask, brazenly discussing how he would retain his illicit crypto holdings even after serving a decade in prison. The judge’s response was unambiguous: “If ten years are okay, I’ll be sentencing you to twelve years.” This video evidence transformed the proceedings, demonstrating Truglia’s lack of remorse and flagrant disregard for court orders. He was subsequently transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center, initially placed in solitary confinement before being transported to a correctional facility in Essex.

The Pattern of Non-Compliance

Truglia’s downfall reveals a pattern of defiance spanning several years. After his initial 18-month conviction in December 2022 for orchestrating a SIM-swap attack that compromised crypto investor Michael Terpin’s accounts and stole over $20 million in digital assets, Truglia was conditionally released in 2023. The arrangement was straightforward: regain freedom in exchange for repaying the full $20 million restitution to his victim.

He failed to honor this commitment. Instead, evidence emerged showing Truglia actively moving his stolen funds, converting them into Bitcoin (BTC), and keeping approximately $673,000 as personal cuts. When arrested again in May 2023 for violating his supervised release terms, he continued the same approach. Even after being released again in November 2024 under another restitution agreement, Truglia refused to settle his debt, ensuring his path to maximum sentencing.

How the SIM-Swap Attack Worked

Truglia’s original crime exploited a fundamental vulnerability in phone security. By obtaining a SIM card under his control, he successfully hijacked Michael Terpin’s phone number, gaining unauthorized access to his email accounts and other digital properties. This digital takeover enabled the theft of over $20 million in cryptocurrency—a scheme that has become increasingly common among sophisticated cybercriminals targeting wealthy investors.

The extended sentence serves as a cautionary reminder that courts will aggressively punish not only the initial crime but also continued defiance and attempts to evade restitution obligations.