Canadian man pleads guilty in $13 million crypto scam, deportation awaits

A Canadian man accused of stealing more than $13 million in cryptocurrency by posing as Google and crypto-support staff pleaded guilty in Miami and now faces deportation after he is sentenced. Prosecutors say Trenton Richard David Johnston, who was 19 at the time of his arrest and has since turned 20, admitted to money-laundering conspiracy in a case that exposed how easily online accounts can be pried open with social engineering and how hard stolen digital assets are to unwind once they begin moving.

Authorities say Johnston and co-conspirators called or messaged victims while pretending to be support representatives from a major search engine and cryptocurrency firms, then used that access to take over digital accounts and wallets. Once the crypto was in their hands, investigators say the group moved it through layered transactions designed to hide where it came from. Prosecutors said the scheme caused more than $13.04 million in losses, and additional victims were still being identified.

Johnston entered the United States from Fort Erie, Ontario, into Buffalo, New York, in October 2024 and overstayed a 12-month tourist visa, according to federal filings. Alongside him, prosecutors charged Brandon Michael Tardibone, 28, of Miami, with money-laundering conspiracy and harboring an alien. Johnston has agreed to be deported back to Canada after sentencing, and he faces up to 20 years in prison on each conspiracy count.

The case began to unravel during a March 2026 traffic stop in North Miami, where Johnston was riding in a white Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Court filings say deputies smelled freshly burnt marijuana, saw cannabis residue in the vehicle and found suspected amphetamine tablets in a Hermes bag. Investigators also said people in the vehicle told police they were living off Johnston’s money. Text messages and court documents allegedly showed Johnston boasting that he had “made a fortune” from scamming crypto holders and referring to a successful “hit” involving 185 bitcoin.

Prosecutors say more than $1 million of the alleged proceeds went to leased luxury vehicles, jewelry and Miami nightlife, with Johnston also spending money on a private jet. But the larger significance of the case lies in the method, not the excess: a fraud built on trust, impersonation and rapid transfers, where the digital trail can be thick enough to indict and thin enough to make recovery elusive. Homeland Security Investigations led the probe with help from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Golden Beach Police Department.