- The SEC and CFTC allege that Singh manipulated FTX software and withdrew $6 million in customer assets.
- He becomes the latest executive to surrender in the multi-billion dollar fraud surrounding FTX.
A key ally of Sam Bankman-Fried has turned himself in to the authorities investigating fraud that led to the collapse of FTX, becoming the third person to plead guilty to multiple charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of 75 years.
Nishad Singh, the co-founder of FTX, pleaded guilty Tuesday to accusations, including the conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, the conspiracy to commit money laundering, and the violation of the campaign finance laws.
Singh becomes the third FTX former executive to ditch his former boss, Samuel Bankman-Fried, who has since pleaded not guilty to 12 fraud charges. Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang are the other SBF’s lieutenants who have since surrendered and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors.
See Related: FTX Orders Beneficiaries of Its Political Donations to Return Money – Estimated at $93 million
Specifically, Singh, who also served as the director of engineering at FTX, has admitted that he misrepresented the exchange’s revenues, made illegal political donations, and illegally moved customer funds to Alameda Research.
The 27-year-old has agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors and forfeit his proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. Before Judge Lewis Kaplan of the federal district court of Manhattan, Sign said in a report seen by the Wall Street Journal that he was “unbelievably sorry for (his) role and all of the harm it has caused.”
See Related: FTX Japan Reopens Allowing Crypto And Fiat Withdrawals For Investors
Diverting Funds Using An Inbuilt Software Code
SEC and CFTC filed separate charges against Singh on Tuesday, accusing him of diverting customer funds to Alameda Research using a software code. The authorities further accused Singh of being directly involved in a plot to withdraw $6 million from the FTX coffers for personal expenditures.
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November last year after a rescue plan from rival exchange Binance failed. What followed was the arrest and extradition of Sam Bankman-Fried, its former CEO, from the Bahamas to the US to face trial. Last week the state prosecutors brought additional charges against the disgraced entrepreneur, including the conspiracy to commit fraud and engaging in illegal political donations in attempts to influence Congress.
