The Teenage Crypto Kingpin Who Stole $24M in His Bedroom

Imagine being 15 and having direct access to $900 million in Ethereum—but it’s locked behind encryption you can’t crack. So you find the next target: $24 million that isn’t locked.

That’s exactly what Ellis Pinsky did.

How a NYC teenager became the FBI’s most wanted

It started with a phone call. Crypto investor Michael Turpin left a conference. Meanwhile, across the country, Ellis had already bribed telecom workers with one mission: intercept Turpin’s phone number. Once they had it, the script ran in seconds. Emails compromised. Cloud accounts breached. Wallet keys exposed.

The haul? Astronomical. But here’s the thing—most of it was locked tight. Until they found the $24 million sitting unprotected.

Hours later, Turpin noticed his account balance drop by eight figures. His main wallet was still there. But the money? Gone.

It became the largest single SIM swap heist on record.

From Xbox kid to crypto criminal

Ellis’s origin story reads like a hacker origin arc:

• Age 13: Got his first Xbox
• Started trading rare Instagram handles for cash
• Joined underground hacker forums
• Learned SQL injection
• Realized SIM swaps = infinite wallet access

The formula was simple but devastating: bribe a telecom rep ($100-500), intercept a text, reset passwords, drain wallets. Rinse and repeat.

Suddenly flush with cash, Ellis bought himself a $100,000 Rolex and stashed it under his bed. Then spent the rest on escorts, nightclubs, and pure teenage excess.

The operation falls apart

The first crack came from his own crew. Nicholas Truglia, one of Ellis’s partners, couldn’t resist bragging online: “Stole $24M. Still can’t keep a friend.”

Sloppy move. Truglia used his real name on Coinbase. The FBI was already watching. He went to prison.

Then things got worse for Ellis. One accomplice ran off with $1.5 million. Another started casually discussing hiring a hitman. The whole operation was imploding.

At 15, Ellis was already living a life with a $22 million lawsuit, masked gunmen breaking into his home, and federal agents closing in.

Where is he now?

Ellis Pinsky is now a philosophy and computer science major at NYU. According to reports, he’s building startups, trying to repay debts, and distance himself from his past.

But the damage was done. By 15, he had managed to acquire 562 Bitcoin, build a network of corrupt telecom insiders, draw the FBI’s attention, and paint a target on his back.

The real question? Whether you can ever leave a life like that behind.