The long saga of Michael Terpin’s battle against SIM Swap fraudsters and allegations that AT&T shoulders much of the blame, saw one chapter closed this past week as the courts ordered perpetrator Nicholas Truglia (25) to repay $20.379 million Terpin. He has also been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
According to a release, Truglia will pay the $20.379 million within 60 days. This follows a settlement with Ellis Pinksy, a co-conspirator in the SIM Swap scam who has paid $2 million to Terpin but is on the hook for a $22 million judgment.
Pierce O’Donnell, attorney at Greenberg Glusker – who represents Terpin, stated:
“My colleagues Paul Blechner, Tim Toohey, and I are thrilled for Michael. When we are finished, and Michael is made whole, his five-year battle against the thieves and AT&T will have set a precedent for private individuals successfully using sophisticated blockchain, investigative, and legal tools in the war on cybercrime.”
When the SIM Swap theft took place, Terpin was using the mobile services of AT&T. He has filed a lawsuit against the mobile provider that has been reported to demand $200 million in damages. This case is ongoing, but Pinsky has agreed to cut a deal with Terpin in the case against AT&T to spill his information.
As was reported in October, Blechner shared:
“Ellis agreed to supply us with truthful information about what happened. He is going to give us full details under oath about how this occurred and how it went down.”
Terpin filed three lawsuits in state and federal courts in Los Angeles and New York City against AT&T, Truglia, Pinsky, and others. In the pending lawsuit against AT&T, Terpin alleged that AT&T is responsible for his losses because the crime would never have happened but for AT&T’s “porous security” that allowed criminals easy access to customers’ private information in violation of the law. AT&T has attempted to have the case dismissed, but these efforts have failed. The case is scheduled for trial next spring.
