A cryptocurrency investor has filed a lawsuit against a New York-based teenager over the alleged theft of $23.8 million in digital currency. 

According to a report by Reuters, plaintiff Michael Terpin has accused a suburban New York high school senior of being the mastermind and ringleader behind a cybercrime scheme that defrauded him of $23.8 million in crypto-assets. Terpin is seeking triple damages of $71.4 million from the defendant Ellis Pinsky, a teenager living in Irvington, New York, and his co-conspirators. 

The alleged theft took place in January 2018, when Pinsky was still a minor. 

Terpin said in the complaint, 

On the surface, Pinsky is an ‘All American Boy’. The tables are now turned.

According to the filing, Pinsky and his “gang of digital bandits” used SIM swaps to gain control of their victim’s smartphones and cryptocurrency accounts. The plaintiff also alleged that Pinsky had bragged to his friends he would never be caught for his actions. 

In addition to Pinsky, the court records show Terpin is suing his mobile carrier AT&T for $240 million. 

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