Former Coinbase employee pleads guilty to insider trading charges
This is believed to be the first case of crypto-related insider trading in the United States.
A former chief product officer at Coinbase has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in what is believed to be the first crypto-related insider trading case in the states -United. Ishan Wahi initially pleaded not guilty last year.
Federal prosecutors say that on at least 14 occasions, Wahi shared confidential information with his brother Nikhil Wahi and his friend Sammer Ramani about the cryptocurrencies Coinbase planned to let its users trade so the pair could trade them. buy in advance. Once Coinbase announced that it would list the tokens, their values rose. Nikhil Wahi and Ramani then reportedly sold the assets for a profit. The scheme reportedly generated over $1.5 million in ill-gotten gains.
Ramani was not apprehended. Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy charge in September and was sentenced last month to 10 months in prison. Ishan Wahi faces a prison term of 36 to 47 months as part of his plea deal, according to Reuters. He will be sentenced in May.
In addition to the criminal charges, Wahi faced a civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission. He asked a judge this week to dismiss the lawsuit, after claiming that the cryptocurrency tokens in question are not securities, meaning they would not be subject to SEC regulation. p>
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This is believed to be the first case of crypto-related insider trading in the United States.
A former chief product officer at Coinbase has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in what is believed to be the first crypto-related insider trading case in the states -United. Ishan Wahi initially pleaded not guilty last year.
Federal prosecutors say that on at least 14 occasions, Wahi shared confidential information with his brother Nikhil Wahi and his friend Sammer Ramani about the cryptocurrencies Coinbase planned to let its users trade so the pair could trade them. buy in advance. Once Coinbase announced that it would list the tokens, their values rose. Nikhil Wahi and Ramani then reportedly sold the assets for a profit. The scheme reportedly generated over $1.5 million in ill-gotten gains.
Ramani was not apprehended. Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy charge in September and was sentenced last month to 10 months in prison. Ishan Wahi faces a prison term of 36 to 47 months as part of his plea deal, according to Reuters. He will be sentenced in May.
In addition to the criminal charges, Wahi faced a civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission. He asked a judge this week to dismiss the lawsuit, after claiming that the cryptocurrency tokens in question are not securities, meaning they would not be subject to SEC regulation. p>
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.
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