- Ishan Wahi, former Coinbase product manager, was sentenced to 2 years for insider trading.
- Wahi’s disclosure of confidential information led to over $1 million in illicit gains.
- Nate Chastain, former OpenSea head of product, was found guilty of money laundering and wire fraud.
On May 9, Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at Coinbase was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for engaging in insider trading, reported Bloomberg. This event has refocused public scrutiny on the problem of insider trading within the crypto sector and the serious ramifications it can entail.
In July 2022, Wahi was taken into custody and accused of wire fraud, as he purportedly disclosed confidential details regarding forthcoming cryptocurrency listings to his brother and another individual, which led to illicit gains surpassing $1 million.
This marks the second instance in which the DOJ has prosecuted a case of insider trading in the cryptocurrency sphere.
On May 3, a verdict was reached in the case of Nate Chastain, a former head of product at OpenSea. Chastain was found guilty of money laundering and wire fraud, having leveraged privileged information to reap profits from the trading of NFTs. While awaiting sentencing, Chastain potentially faces a maximum sentence of 40 years for the charges brought against him.
Meanwhile, Nikhil Wahi, brother of Ishan Wahi, admitted guilt to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and received a 10-month prison sentence in January.
Despite the defense team’s plea for a sentence not exceeding 10 months, Wahi was handed a two-year prison term. While the duration surpasses the desired outcome of his lawyers, it remains significantly shorter than the maximum sentence of 60 years that could have been imposed for his involvement in the illegal activity.
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