Former FTX CTO Nishad Singh Pleads Guilty of Billion Dollar Fraud

Federal prosecutors said on Tuesday the former chief technology officer of bankrupt cryptocurrency trading firm Sam Bankman-Fried FTX pleaded guilty to fraud.

Nishad Singh, 27, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit merchandise fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to make illegal political contributions and defrauding the Federal Election Commission, and to other related charges. He is the third member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle who is now collaborating against him.

“Today’s guilty plea further emphasizes that the crimes at FTX were enormous in scope and impact. They shocked our financial markets with a multi-billion dollar fraud,” Manhattan Attorney Damian William said.

FTX founder Sam-Bankman-Fried resigns from Manhattan Federal Court.

“And they corrupted our politics with tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign straw donations. These crimes require fast and reliable justice, and that’s exactly what we want in the Southern District of New York.”

Singh’s lawyers, Russell Capone and Andrew Goldstein, said he intends to cooperate in the case.

“Nishad deeply regrets his role in this and has taken responsibility for his actions. He wants to do everything possible to make things right for the victims, including by helping the government to the best of his ability in this case,” the lawyers said.

Singh is released on $250,000 bail pending sentencing.

Bankman-Fried, 30, was indicted on 12 counts alleging he stole billions from investors in his FTX trading platform to transfer them to his cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda, conspired to defraud banks, siphoned millions disguised donations to the political system for personal gain and other related allegations.

He pleaded not guilty to eight counts, and he will respond later on the rest, which were uncovered last week. The alleged mini-Madoff is under house arrest at his parents’ Palo Alto, California home on $250 million bail, the largest federal pre-trial package in history.

Singh is a secret sponsor who is named as accomplice 1 in the Bankman-Freed replacement indictment that was uncovered last week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the case. It has been described as a hidden donation to left-wing political candidates ahead of the 2022 midterm elections and transferring $107,000 from Bankman-Fried to the New York State Democratic Committee on his behalf.

“[In] In general, being a center-left entity in our spending would mean that you are giving away a lot of crap for transactional purposes,” Singh was quoted as saying by a political consultant in the indictment.

Singh allegedly told the consultant that he was uncomfortable making secret payments, but he knew that no one was “trusted” at FTX. [who was] bi/gay.

Nishad Singh

Singh is the third former Bankman-Fried executive to face criminal charges in the case. In December, Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of hedge fund Alameda Research Bankman-Fried, and his ex-girlfriend pleaded guilty to seven counts, while Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, pleaded guilty to four counts. Both cooperate.

Authorities have said that Singh faces a 75-year prison sentence, but it is unlikely that he will serve that long because of his cooperation.

A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

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