Nishad Singh, a close aide of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former engineering director and founder of FTX, was spared imprisonment due to his assistance in the prosecution's investigation following the collapse of FTX, and the judge considered his criminal conduct to be relatively minor.
After FTX's bankruptcy, Nishad Singh faced six counts of criminal fraud and money laundering. He pleaded guilty last February and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution against SBF, becoming the third whistleblower in the case.
According to (Inner City Press), U.S. Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled on Wednesday that Nishad Singh would be 'time served,' plus three years of supervised release.
Editor’s note: 'Time served' means the time served in custody prior to sentencing equals the length of the sentence, and no further imprisonment is required.
Judge Lewis Kaplan determined that, compared to other core members of FTX, Nishad Singh's criminal conduct was 'more minor.' His defense attorney emphasized that Nishad Singh's level of involvement in the case was lower, and he had pleaded guilty as early as February 2023 and was even willing to cooperate with the investigation.
FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022 due to a liquidity crisis, triggering a wave of fraud allegations, which also led to the collapse of closely related trading firm Alameda Research. SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $11 billion in March this year after being found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
During SBF's trial last October, Nishad Singh revealed in his testimony his experiences living in a penthouse apartment in the Bahamas with SBF and other core members of FTX. He stated that he felt anxious about this lavish lifestyle and suggested moving to a more affordable place, but SBF refused, saying he 'liked the view.'
Nishad Singh recalled that in September 2022, just weeks before FTX's collapse, he had a private conversation with SBF on the balcony of the penthouse, inquiring about Alameda's financial situation and the issue of the $13 billion loan that could not be repaid, but SBF merely downplayed it, stating, 'It's just a slight delivery shortfall.'
Nishad Singh stated that he was 'both shocked and stunned' at the time, feeling 'betrayed,' but chose to remain at FTX after the conversation, not realizing it would become a decision he would regret to this day.
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years in prison in September for cooperating with the investigation; another FTX co-founder, Gary Wang, is expected to be sentenced on November 20; as for Ryan Salame, who served as co-CEO of FTX's Bahamian subsidiary FTX Digital Markets, he has already been imprisoned for seven and a half years.
"Judge rules 'minor conduct'! Former engineering director of FTX, Nishad Singh, avoids prison" was first published on (Blockcast).