Nearly two years after the collapse of FTX, former engineering director Nishad Singh and CTO Gary Wang are finally set to answer for their part in the multi-year fraud.
Nearly two years after the spectacular collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried‘s crypto empire, comprising FTX and Alameda, two former executives of the failed crypto exchange are finally set to be sentenced for their roles in the massive fraud.
On Tuesday, July 9, an update to the court docket revealed the sentencing dates for Nishad Singh, FTX’s former engineering director, and Gary Wang, the exchange’s CTO. According to the docket, Singh will be sentenced on October 30, while Wang will be sentenced on November 20.
Nishad Singh, Gary Wang Sentencing Dates Revealed
The sentencing of Singh and Wang marks a significant development in the ongoing legal saga surrounding the FTX collapse. The two executives were among several FTX associates who pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with the fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal charges in February 2023, including one count of wire fraud, three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by violating campaign finance laws.
Wang, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to four criminal charges in December 2022, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
While the charges against Singh and Wang carry potential prison sentences of decades, their pleas and cooperation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) are likely to result in significantly lighter sentences.
Both executives testified in SBF’s October 2023 trial, providing damning evidence against the former FTX CEO. Singh testified to having raised concerns about many of SBF’s spending decisions, including the use of celebrity endorsements and the choice of a $35 million penthouse to house insiders. However, he also admitted to writing the first code for the backdoor that allowed Alameda to access FTX customer funds and trade with a negative balance on the exchange. Additionally, he admitted to helping SBF inflate FTX’s revenue in 2021.
Wang’s testimony corroborated Singh’s regarding Alameda’s special privileges on FTX. He further revealed that FTX’s so-called “Backstop Liquidity Fund,” which was supposedly created to enable trading in times of a liquidity crunch, was practically non-existent.
At its peak, FTX was the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by volume, boasting a valuation of over $32 billion. SBF, the firm’s founder, had close ties to top politicians and regulators and was widely hailed as a wunderkind in the crypto space.
However, the exchange's rapid rise came crashing down within a week after a leaked balance sheet indicated that the firm was inflating its balance sheet with FTT, the illiquid native token created by the exchange. The revelation sparked a mass withdrawal of funds from FTX, ultimately leading to the exchange halting withdrawals and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 11, 2022.
In the aftermath of the FTX crash, prosecutors have uncovered a years-long fraud orchestrated by SBF and his associates, which saw FTX customer funds being diverted to support the entrepreneur’s failing trading business, Alameda Research, and a variety of personal excesses. SBF himself was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the fraud.
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