An 80-year-old man lost nearly $285,000 to fraud, and after the funds were converted to cryptocurrency, he sued Charles Schwab

According to Business Insider, 80-year-old New York investor George Chryssanthou fell victim to a telecom scam, losing approximately $285,000. The scammers gained remote control of his computer by impersonating Microsoft technical support personnel and induced him to wire transfer multiple times to an account named Coinbase Inc during January 2025, with the funds subsequently converted to Bitcoin.

The victim has filed a negligence claim against Charles Schwab with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), alleging that the brokerage failed to identify and stop these unusual high-frequency large transfers. The total amount involved in the scam was $284,650, with individual transfer amounts ranging from $18,000 to $90,000.