Canadian who stole $13M US in crypto bought Lamborghini, BMWs: plea deal

Canadian who stole $13M US in crypto bought Lamborghini, BMWs: plea deal

Trenton Richard David Johnston, 20, pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy

For a Canadian teenager who lived the high life in Miami while spending the proceeds of a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud scheme on luxury cars and a private jet, the ruse began to unravel with a traffic stop.

Trenton Richard David Johnston was seated in the back of a white Rolls-Royce Cullinan with tinted windows one evening this past March when a sheriff's deputy told the driver to pull over.

According to an investigator's account — not contested by Johnston — it wasn't long before the other people in the SUV spilled what they knew about the mysterious Canadian. All three told law enforcement they'd met Johnston in the past year and were living off his generosity.

Johnston didn't have a real job, they said, but he had made a fortune by scamming crypto holders.

On Tuesday, Johnston pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Miami in connection with the months-long scheme that saw him impersonate Google staff and steal at least $13.04 million US in virtual currency.

After one theft, Johnston boasted to an accomplice in a text message, "bro we rlly actually did some crazy a-- s---."

Johnston, who turned 20 while in custody last month, agreed to be deported back to Canada, according to a plea deal reviewed by CBC News. He'll be sentenced at a later date.

Johnston had overstayed his 12-month U.S. tourist visa after crossing from Fort Erie, Ont., to Buffalo, N.Y., in October 2024 at age 18. It's unclear where he'd previously lived. Johnston's Florida-based lawyers did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment. The prosecutor's office declined to provide further specifics.

During that traffic stop in March, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's deputy noted "a strong odour of freshly burnt marijuana" as well as cannabis residue visible in the vehicle's cup holder, according to a sworn affidavit filed in court.

Johnston was found to be carrying 21 suspected amphetamine tablets in a Hermes bag. But investigators would soon uncover further evidence that got him into much deeper trouble.

After they seized Johnston's computer, cell phone and handwritten notes — with codes to access crypto accounts — federal agents with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) pieced together Johnston's brazen fraud scheme.

One victim in California told investigators they'd received two separate phone calls on March 13: one from someone claiming to be from Google, the other from a supposed representative of Trezor, a crypto security firm.

After being duped into believing their accounts had already been compromised, the victim provided codes to access their two digital accounts.

The victim soon noticed "that approximately 185 Bitcoin were stolen from his/her wallets, or the equivalent of approximately US $13 million," HSI Special Agent Ivan Sanchez wrote in a criminal complaint in April. He said none of the assets had been recovered.

After the theft, Johnston and an accomplice congratulated each other using the encrypted messaging app Signal.

"We actually smacked a 185btc target today," Johnston told the unnamed co-conspirator. "Like unironically smacked a 185."

According to the criminal complaint, Johnston also said: "And we ain't done."

He didn't hide the scheme. According to one witness interviewed by investigators after the March traffic stop, Johnston showed others how he carried out the thefts by sharing his screen over the social platform Discord.

Sanchez, the HSI agent, also detailed a previous incident in February where another user in California said they'd been defrauded out of $41,000 US worth of the virtual currency Ethereum.

Some 4,000 kilometres away, meanwhile, Johnston was spending big on what prosecutors described as an "extravagant nightlife and entertainment lifestyle."

According to a statement issued last month by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, Johnston's co-conspirator Brandon Michael Tardibone provided him with "lodging at a luxury Miami-area residence in an effort to evade immigration authorities."

What's more, Tardibone, a local exotic car dealer, also assisted Johnston in buying a high-powered Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, two BMWs and jewelry, and even renting a private jet.

A page-long list of transactions facilitated by Tardibone are included in Johnston's plea agreement, ranging from car rentals in Los Angeles to "plane tickets for two girls from New York." The expenses totaled $1.19 million US over a three-month span this year.

When asked about the case, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada told CBC News that officials were in contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance to a Canadian citizen.

Both Johnston and Tardibone pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit money laundering. They each face prison terms at sentencing, but it's unclear when Johnston will be sent back to Canada.

He agreed to a removal order issued by a U.S. immigration judge in April. Johnston's plea deal says he committed to "assist" Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his own deportation.

If you have a news tip related to this story, contact CBC News senior reporter Thomas Daigle by email: thomas.daigle@cbc.ca.