Johnston got a more lenient sentence than prosecutors wanted
The 20-year-old Canadian, Johnston, entered a guilty plea on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors recommended that the court hand down a 51- to 63-month prison term for Johnston under his plea agreement. A separate wire fraud conspiracy charge was dropped.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s May indictment, Johnston faced a maximum of 20 years on each count leveled against him.
Johnston’s lawyer Brooke C. Watson said the sentence came in lighter than prosecutors wanted because he “quickly admitted his conduct” and was “tremendously sorry for what he has done.”
The court also factored in Johnston’s “substantial assistance” in the investigating and prosecuting other unnamed suspects.
How much was recovered from Johnston?
Johnston surrendered about $3.8 million in Bitcoin and Ether after his arrest, less than a third of the at least $13.04 million in stolen funds attributed to him.
According to Homeland Security Investigations, Johnston and his group of co-conspirators targeted victims by posing as crypto firm support staff as well as Google reps.
The big heist on March 13 took about 185 $BTC from a California victim, worth close to $13 million at the time. Posing as Google employees and Trezor representatives, the group robbed the victim of his life savings.
The complaint noted that nothing has been recovered from the 185 $BTC theft.
Another Californian victim was scammed for roughly $41,000 in ETH in February after being convinced that his Google email and Coinbase accounts were compromised.
As of this report, it is unclear whether the court has approved a recovery plan for Johnston’s victims.
Johnston faces deportation to Canada
Johnston, who entered into fraud at the age of 17 in January 2024, still faces a Florida drug possession charge and accepted a removal order from a U.S. immigration judge in April. He has been in the United States since October 2024, overstaying the 12-month tourist visa he got when he crossed into Buffalo, New York, from Fort Erie, Ontario.
He is expected to be handed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation to Canada.
Prosecutors said the proceeds funded “an extravagant nightlife and entertainment lifestyle.” Court records list a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, two BMWs, jewelry, and a private jet rental among the purchases.
Much of that spending, totaling about $1.19 million over three months, was arranged by co-defendant Brandon Michael Tardibone, a 28-year-old Miami exotic car dealer who also pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and faces a recommended 27 to 33 months.
The case surfaced after a deputy pulled over a white Rolls-Royce Cullinan in North Miami in March. Johnston, in the back seat, was carrying 21 suspected amphetamine tablets in a Hermes bag, leading to a state drug charge.
Cryptopolitan has covered a recent run of social engineering prosecutions in the Miami area.