A 20-year-old Canadian stole 185 BTC. He is in prison now.

[greysonz]

He lived lavishly after stealing these Bitcoins, but was caught and sentenced to 25 months in prison.
Trenton Johnston posed as a Google support employee, tricked people into accessing crypto wallets, and spent the proceeds on Lamborghinis, private jets, and parties in Miami, jewelry.
The scammer became so emboldened that he openly bragged about his schemes on Discord and came to the attention of the police after his luxury Rolls-Royce was pulled over.


https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/crypto-scammer-who-stole-13-million-caught-after-bragging-about-it-on-discord-3422381/

This story reminds me of a previously published story about a 22-year-old guy and his team of Bitcoin thieves, who also wanted the high life and were also caught. Life doesn't teach these guys anything.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5593660.msg67127586#msg67127586

[Ashawowo(OS)]

spent the proceeds on Lamborghinis, private jets, and parties in Miami.

Same stupidity and youthful exuberance that gets most of them caught. They always have no other plan apart from living lavishly.
How come the companies that sold him the lambourginis and private jets didn't do anything to verify his source of income? He's too young to afford these without a verifiable source of income. I think the management of those companies should be brought in for some questioning.

The scammer became so emboldened that he openly bragged about his schemes on Discord and came to the attention of the police after his luxury Rolls-Royce was pulled over.

Well, he can get even bolder behind bars... Serves him right.

[Charles-Tim]

One thing that I have noticed about this young people is that they think they can be bribing the police and other government officials that want to bring them out that their work it not clean.

They will be living a luxurious life when their parent do not have the kind of money they are having. Just at his teenage age, he is so rich like that and not hiding it. He unintentionally planned his own sentencing.

There are many scammers like this, but some are not noticed. But earning huge amount of money can make someone make the mistakes he made.

[SatsPH]

Oh well, that's how stealing money is, you brag about it and so sooner or later you will be in the radar and the long hands of the justice are going to caught up wit you with. Just too bad that youth of today are really very different as compare to our generation.

In any case, good riddance to him. But only 25 months in jail is just like a slap on the wrist for this people. They should have getting harsher punishment.

[OgNasty]

Maybe now I'll stop getting those fake calls claiming to be from Google...  Sad that some people fall for this sort of thing enough that it is so common.  I never would have guessed that anyone actually made 185 BTC doing that.  Hopefully his victims get their coins back.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

There are many scammers like this, but some are not noticed. But earning huge amount of money can make someone make the mistakes he made.

Well, the scammers don't earn money, they steal it from unsuspecting people. One thing that is common is that when they steal such amount that is not rightly theirs, it is natural to get lavish and loose control and that is where they blow their cover which is good because it sucks when thieves are able to spend the proceeds of crime peacefully.

The boy really needs rehabilitation and close monitiring because there are serious tendencies he would pull off more digital robberies when he is out of prison.

[Chibit01]

These young dudes only think about scamming people not for anything good but to spend all that money on luxury and still mock those who they scammed. Imagine boasting about how much was scammed and still telling victims you are not done. Some scammers are the ones who live a quiet lives, but on the other end I like how some of the young generation are noisy it makes it easy for them to be caught at least not as hard as it could have been with those who are very secretive.

I read he was caught with $3m worth of cryptocurrencies being recovered. At least some of that stolen money can be recovered, and his assets should be converted to cash if possible to compensate some of the victims.

[Livingleged]

One thing that I have noticed about this young people is that they think they can be bribing the police and other government officials that want to bring them out that their work it not clean.

They will be living a luxurious life when their parent do not have the kind of money they are having. Just at his teenage age, he is so rich like that and not hiding it. He unintentionally planned his own sentencing.

There are many scammers like this, but some are not noticed. But earning huge amount of money can make someone make the mistakes he made.

You know the truth, this kind of criminals will always be caught because the money involved are so much to make them think they are unstoppable. Have you realised they all ended up spending lavishly on luxuries that attract attention without building a business that can prove the source of the funds? Thats the mentality of a teenage criminal who think they can hide around bitcoin theft simply because they said bitcoin is anonymous.

25 months in prison is not enough time to justify this case in my opinion let it be like 5 year at least other will learn. It’s not being long we saw the other 22years old similar Singapore guy’s case if I’m not mistaken.

[GreatArkansas]

These young dudes only think about scamming people not for anything good but to spend all that money on luxury and still mock those who they scammed. Imagine boasting about how much was scammed and still telling victims you are not done. Some scammers are the ones who live a quiet lives, but on the other end I like how some of the young generation are noisy it makes it easy for them to be caught at least not as hard as it could have been with those who are very secretive.

I read he was caught with $3m worth of cryptocurrencies being recovered. At least some of that stolen money can be recovered, and his assets should be converted to cash if possible to compensate some of the victims.

Yeah, but he stole around 185 BTC. Even if $3M was recovered, that is still a lot short if you convert 185 BTC today. For me I'm curious if the victims will really get most of it back or just a small part.
I'm also curious if this scammer like layed low after the scam or didnt buy these shits or made some noise, do you think he will get caught?

[Halifat]

Maybe now I'll stop getting those fake calls claiming to be from Google...  Sad that some people fall for this sort of thing enough that it is so common.  I never would have guessed that anyone actually made 185 BTC doing that.  Hopefully his victims get their coins back.

Hopefully, he will get it back but I don't think it's going to complete at that moment, I think it is very important for everyone to take this as lesson so that he shouldn't happen to us one day, because most at times we have been carried away thinking that the person calling are genuine. It is not that I am supporting evil here, but if someone make this kind of money must they spend it lavishly, but I considered it as a free money that they didn't work for, people who don't work for money don't look back when they are spending it and that was exactly what happened that this guy was caught.

[Marykeller]

Same habits everywhere: people lavishly spending money they didn't work hard for, if not from scamming people.

It's hard for young people to keep their cool if they cash out money from fraudulent means. Then you will see them buying the most expensive cars, clubbing, showcasing their gold and diamond watches and chains on social media, not knowing they are drawing the attention of the police men on themselves because it's most of the time hard for people at a young age to spend lavishly when their source of income is not defined.

[Teddy_Smoke]

Biggest lesson: Never share your seed phrase or private keys with anyone, no matter who they claim to be. And if you’re out here flexing stolen money online, the internet keeps receipts. Those posts, screenshots, and car photos don’t disappear. They just sit there waiting for someone to connect the dots.

[m2017]

He lived lavishly after stealing these Bitcoins, but was caught and sentenced to 25 months in prison.

Why steal a cryptocurrency that isn’t confidential or private? Everyone knows that criminals use XMR, after all.

Only two years? Isn’t that a bit too short a sentence for a crime like this? Or was the term significantly reduced because he turned out to be so easy to catch?

Trenton Johnston posed as a Google support employee, tricked people into accessing crypto wallets,

I’d like to take a look at his victims - it’s quite curious to find out what kind of people would be willing to hand over their cryptocurrency to a Google employee (as if Google were the creator of bitcoinn and provided users support ).

and spent the proceeds on Lamborghinis, private jets, and parties in Miami, jewelry.

This lil boy had nothing to boast about to his peers, so he decided to fix that. By the way, similar complexes are often seen in grown men, too.

The scammer became so emboldened that he openly bragged about his schemes on Discord

This boy didn’t need money; what he needed was recognition from those around him, to compensate for an inferiority complex. A thief takes things quietly and says nothing about it, but this person shows them off to boast.

and came to the attention of the police after his luxury Rolls-Royce was pulled over.

Ah, so that’s where he slipped up.

"According to court documents reported by CBC News, Johnston and an accomplice stole 185 Bitcoin, worth approximately $13 million at the time, from a California victim in March 2026".

Source: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/crypto-scammer-who-stole-13-million-caught-after-bragging-about-it-on-discord-3422381/

Someone had the sense to save up 185BTC, but lacked the sense to hold onto it.

"Rather than keeping quiet about the theft, Johnston immediately bragged about his success in messages to his accomplice."

“We actually smacked a 185btc target today,” he wrote, before adding: “Club feels mad good after today.”

Source: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/crypto-scammer-who-stole-13-million-caught-after-bragging-about-it-on-discord-3422381/

And what’s the point of keeping quiet around an accomplice,after all, if someone is an accomplice, they’re already in the know, aren’t they?

[Chibit01]

Yeah, but he stole around 185 BTC. Even if $3M was recovered, that is still a lot short if you convert 185 BTC today. For me I'm curious if the victims will really get most of it back or just a small part.

The money recovered is small judging by what was stolen, but it's better compared to some cases of no actual raw cash being recovered but only property which is included, and if the victims can get their money back is based on how the case settles and how the victims follow up for recovery.

I'm also curious if this scammer like layed low after the scam or didnt buy these shits or made some noise, do you think he will get caught?

If they are quiet there is a possibility they could be caught, but it might take longer. As long as they spend the scammed proceeds, they can make mistakes that will give them out, unless the scam is unnoticed and there is no investigation.

I also read on the link from the Op, that the guy is assisting with the investigation to catch other scammers, either his associates, since he did not commit the crime alone or scammer from other crimes.

[Sammysmart001]

But only 25 months in jail is just like a slap on the wrist for this people. They should have getting harsher punishment.

Wow a 25 month sentence for a $13m  theft this absolutely a joke. If he could managed to hide even a little portion from that 185 BTC, where the police can’t recover it he will be walking out of the prison at the age of 22 as a multi millionaire. This kind of light sentences does not stop criminals. This makes crypto theft to look like an high paying job with just a brief temporary pause.

This young scammers will continue to take the gamble, until the court systerm starts to handle decade long sentences for digital theft.

[Teddy_Smoke]

One thing that I have noticed about this young people is that they think they can be bribing the police and other government officials that want to bring them out that their work it not clean.

They will be living a luxurious life when their parent do not have the kind of money they are having. Just at his teenage age, he is so rich like that and not hiding it. He unintentionally planned his own sentencing.

There are many scammers like this, but some are not noticed. But earning huge amount of money can make someone make the mistakes he made.

Yeah I’ve noticed that too. A lot of these young guys think money can buy their way out of anything, like they can just bribe the police or officials when things get hot. Meanwhile they’re living this flashy life their parents could never afford, and they’re not even trying to hide it. At that age, pulling up in Lambos and posting about it is basically writing your own case file.

He really planned his own sentencing without realizing it. The cars, the parties, the Discord brags… all of it made him impossible to ignore. Plenty of scammers are still out there flying under the radar, but once the money gets too big and the lifestyle gets too loud, the mistakes start stacking up fast. But it's all about the bragging in the first place.  

[YellowSwap]

This is what young boys are doing in my country, not a big deal anymore and mind you if he shows kindness to his family with that money they will not question him.

If anyone comes fort and start questioning him it will look like the questioner doesn't want the boy to do well in life, something most people will call envy.

There are so many people getting feed by evil people and scammers in my country, there are many families depending on their son's to steal some someone else's and send the money home so that they can survive.

It takes a good rare human being to stand against this lifestyle but such people are very rare, people don't care where the money is coming from.

[Hewlet]

This story reminds me of a previously published story about a 22-year-old guy and his team of Bitcoin thieves, who also wanted the high life and were also caught. Life doesn't teach these guys anything.

What's not yours is not yours and in some way, it will definitely find it way back to the owner. the flamboyant lifestyle is not a thing that is strange with money gotten through a crook means. in some way, people will start to relate this action to bitcoin as though this form of theft is only peculiar to bitcoin users alone.

As for the 25 month sentence for this kind of outrageous amount, i consider it too little and will only encourage others to attempt such thing seeing that eve if they are caught, the number of years they are expected to serve is something they can cope with. amore severe sentence is another way of ensuring that youth shy away from this kind of thing.

[hugeblack]

I wonder how he managed to cash out 185 Bitcoins without raising any suspicions, and how he succeeded in depositing that sum into his bank account without it being frozen given that it is generally difficult to use Bitcoin to fund a luxurious lifestyle?
Stories like these are hard to believe, unless they are part of a money-laundering network.

[Bd officer]

I am surprised that he was sentenced to only 25 months in prison. In my opinion, he should have been sentenced to life imprisonment so that other fraudsters can learn from this or refrain from doing it themselves. But now it has become easier for scammers.
Many young people are committing such frauds in our country too. Although they target local mobile banking Nagad or Bikash accounts, they send OTP and are able to access the account by showing false enticements. Many fools share these.