According to Cointelegraph, Dylan Meissner, the former vice president of finance at Delphi Digital, has been sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling nearly $4.5 million from the cryptocurrency research firm. The sentencing was delivered by Connecticut District Court Judge Michael P. Shea on December 17. Meissner will also face two years of supervised release and is required to repay over $4.6 million, which includes the embezzled funds and an unpaid loan.
The Justice Department, while not naming Delphi Digital directly, referred to it as "Company A" during the court proceedings. Meissner's lawyer, however, confirmed the company's identity in a sentencing memo. Meissner, who served as Delphi's finance VP from October 2021 to November 2022, had access to the firm's crypto wallets and bank accounts. In January 2022, he received a 50 Ether loan, valued at approximately $170,000 at the time, purportedly to mitigate personal investment losses. Instead of repaying the loan, Meissner embezzled around $4.46 million and falsified financial records to conceal his actions.
As part of a plea agreement, Meissner admitted to wire fraud in July and was released on a $100,000 bond. He is scheduled to report to prison on February 21, 2025, and has waived his right to appeal. The sentence was less than the 51 to 63 months recommended by his lawyer and significantly lower than the 78 to 97 months proposed by prosecutors. Meissner's defense highlighted his struggles with substance abuse and his efforts to maintain sobriety, as well as his admission of guilt to Delphi and his assistance in documenting the financial damage he caused.
Prosecutors, however, argued that Meissner's actions were not impulsive but rather a calculated scheme to defraud the company. They noted that Meissner claimed he intended to return the money, suggesting a rational, albeit wrongful, plan to use company funds to recover personal losses and profit before reimbursing Delphi. This undermined the defense's portrayal of his actions as driven by addiction or compulsion. Cointelegraph attempted to contact Meissner's legal representatives for further comments.