Former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh avoids jail

Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at FTX, was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release. He avoided further prison for his role in the multibillion-dollar fraud at the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange.

Singh, sentenced by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in New York, also faces an $11 billion forfeiture, becoming the fourth former FTX employee to be held liable in court.

Limited function and cooperation

Although Singh initially faced a possible 75-year sentence after pleading guilty to six criminal charges early last year, his lawyers successfully argued for leniency, citing the personal history of executive, the limited role in the misconduct and the efforts to rebuild his life since the fall of FTX. .

Judge Kaplan singled out Singh’s cooperation as “remarkable” and indicated that his role in the fraud was considerably less significant than that of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried or Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research. This assessment ultimately led to a more lenient sentence than would otherwise have been imposed.

Andrew Goldstein, Singh’s lawyer and a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, had previously argued that he should be viewed differently from Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, saying he was not directly involved in the basic conspiracy surrounding FTX. collapse

Singh reportedly became aware of Alameda Research’s improper withdrawal of FTX client funds only in September 2022, just two months before the company’s downfall.

Prosecutors acknowledged Singh’s extensive cooperation in the case, revealing that the former executive met with them more than 24 times and showed sincere remorse and a commitment to help the investigation. Singh provided crucial information about crimes unknown to the authorities. This included a campaign finance scheme that likely would have gone undiscovered without his input.

Unpacking the FTX phrases

Ellison received a two-year sentence in September for his role in the FTX scandal, while Bankman-Fried received 25 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Ryan Salame, who ran FTX Digital Markets and chose not to cooperate in the case against FTX’s founder, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for his role in an illegal campaign finance operation.

Meanwhile, Wang, who happens to be the last cooperating witness, will be sentenced on November 20.

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