Canadian Man Who Posed as Tech Support to Steal 185 Bitcoin Sentenced to Time Served in Miami, Hands Over About $3.8 Million
A U.S. federal judge in Miami, Florida, on October 26 sentenced Trenton Richard David Johnston, a 20-year-old Canadian citizen, to time served for a cryptocurrency theft scheme in which he posed as a tech support worker and swindled 185 bitcoin from a California victim, according to CBC News. Johnston, who has been in custody since his March 2026 arrest, handed over about $3.8 million in stolen cryptocurrency. He had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; under the plea deal, prosecutors withdrew a wire fraud conspiracy charge — on both counts together he had faced up to 20 years in prison.
According to court documents, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) found that Johnston impersonated Google tech support staff and representatives of crypto firms to convince victims to share the codes to their cryptocurrency wallets. In one instance, he and an unnamed co-conspirator swindled a California victim out of his life savings — 185 bitcoin, worth about $13 million at the time. "We actually smacked a 185btc target today," Johnston wrote in text messages to his accomplice, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Miami. "Club feels mad good after today," he added. "And we ain't done." Prosecutors said Johnston splurged on an extravagant nightlife and entertainment lifestyle in the Miami area, spending on a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, two BMWs, jewelry and a private jet rental. A witness told investigators Johnston showed others how he carried out the thefts by sharing his screen over the social platform Discord.
Johnston was arrested in March 2026 in North Miami, seated in the back of a Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV that smelled of freshly burned marijuana, with suspected amphetamine tablets found in a Hermes bag — a Florida state drug possession charge from that arrest is still pending. He had crossed from Fort Erie, Ontario, to Buffalo, New York, in October 2024 at age 18 and overstayed his 12-month tourist visa; his scheme, his defence lawyer revealed in a court filing last week, had started months earlier, in January 2024, when he was 17.
Defence lawyer Brooke C. Watson wrote that after his arrest Johnston "turned over all of the stolen cryptocurrency in his possession," approximately $3.8 million in bitcoin and ether, and that he "quickly admitted his conduct and is tremendously sorry for what he has done." Prosecutors said Johnston provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of other unnamed individuals. He agreed in April to a removal order issued by a U.S. immigration judge; it is unclear when he will be released from custody, and he is expected eventually to be handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation to Canada.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于 Florida 州 Miami 的 David W. Dyer 联邦大楼与联邦法院（佛罗里达南区联邦法院所在地之一），本案在此量刑。Ebyabe 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The David W. Dyer Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Miami, Florida, a Southern District of Florida courthouse where Johnston was sentenced. Photo by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
