A "windfall" that does not belong to oneself causes greed.

They say “there is no such thing as a free lunch”, and a cryptocurrency crime case fully proves this statement.

A 39-year-old man named Jatinder Singh was recently sentenced to three years in prison by the Victorian County Court in Melbourne, Australia. The "erroneous refund" from the centralized exchange Crypto.com turned out to be the key cause of this crime.

Back in May 2021, Singh tried to deposit 100 Australian dollars (approximately US$65) into his Crypto.com account using the bank account of his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel. However, the deposit was rejected by the exchange because the bank account name did not match the one linked to their Crypto.com account.

Under normal circumstances, Crypto.com only needs to return 100 Australian dollars to the bank account where the deposit was originally attempted. However, due to a "major accounting error" made by exchange employees, 10.47 million Australian dollars (about 6.8 million US dollars, 220 million US dollars) were accidentally transferred NT$) was refunded to Maniville's bank account.

According to a report by Australian local media "News.com", after Singer discovered the excessive refund the next day, he instructed Manneville to transfer the funds to their joint account to avoid the money being recovered.

This serious error was not discovered by Crypto.com until an internal audit seven months after the incident. However, Singer and Manivel had already spent most of their money, buying two houses and two plots of land in Melbourne, Australia, and even gifted $650,000 to a friend.

Source: X

The exchange and the bank have contacted the parties several times

Crypto.com immediately contacted the bank after discovering the error, and Maniville herself received multiple contacts from the bank and Crypto.com, but she later told the police that she thought it was a scam message and therefore did not return the money immediately. The judge noted that Singer quickly began spending the money after Manneville was first contacted, with Manneville also transferring $2.64 million into a Malaysian bank account in two transactions.

Maniver was eventually arrested at Melbourne Airport on March 7, 2022, while holding a one-way ticket to Malaysia. Singer was arrested later that month and claimed he "sincerely believed" the money was won from an online contest.

The judge said that despite Singer's guilty plea, he still lacked understanding of his crimes and placed the blame on Crypto.com and the bank. However, the judge noted based on Singer's psychological report that he had limited understanding, difficulty handling complex situations, and the inability to foresee the consequences of committing these acts.

Ultimately, Singh was sentenced to three years in prison, of which 361 days already served will be credited, and he will still be eligible for parole after serving two years. Manneville, for his part, was sentenced to 209 days in prison last September after pleading guilty to mishandling the proceeds of crime. She has now completed her sentence but is still required to participate in 18 months of community corrections.

Additionally, Crypto.com has launched an investigation into the incident and seized assets, but the company declined to disclose to prosecutors the exact amount that has been recovered.

[Disclaimer] There are risks in the market, so investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice, and users should consider whether any opinions, views or conclusions contained in this article are appropriate for their particular circumstances. Invest accordingly and do so at your own risk.

  • This article is reproduced with permission from: "Web3+"