Regulation

Former FTX Executives Singh and Wang Sentencing Dates Set

Published

6 months ago

July 9, 2024

Ex-FTX executives Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, who entered guilty pleas for fraud charges and helped the prosecution against their former colleague Sam Bankman-Fried, are set to receive their sentences in the fall.

Ex FTX Executives Singh and Wang Sentencing Dates

Nishad Singh, the former Director of Engineering at FTX, and Gary Wang, the former CTO, are both currently in the process of awaiting their sentencing in connection with the criminal case that stems from the FTX crypto exchange’s demise.

Singh is expected to be sentenced on the 30th of October, 2024 while on the other hand Wang is expected to be sentenced on the 20th of November, 2024 before the District Court for the Southern District of New York.

They entered their guilty pleas following the exchange’s downfall in the last month of 2022. Singh and Wang thus took the stand against Bankman-Fried, the co-founder, and former chief executive of FTX to testify that they knew about the mishandling of customers’ funds and other fraudulent practices at the exchange. Their evidence has been instrumental in the case put up by the prosecution against Bankman-Fried.

Details of the Charges and Testimonies

Nishad Singh entered a guilty plea to six criminal counts, including fraud and conspiracy. Singh took the stand during Bankman-Fried’s trial in October and said he had found an $8bn gap in FTX’s books around September 2022, which had been spent on real estate and other risky trades, all of which were funded by customers’ deposits.

Singh also testified to writing systems that directed the FTX customer funds to Alameda’s bank accounts and developing systems that favored Alameda over other customers.

Gary Wang who is facing four charges including the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud also gave evidence against the defendants. He revealed that he assisted in creating some parts of the FTX exchange website and was able to present a piece of code that provided an exaggerated picture of the FTX ‘public insurance fund’ which was meant to lessen the investors’ worries but was just a number generated at random and did not in any way depict the actual liquidity that was available. Wang’s cooperation with the FBI was motivated by the need to make the right decision and to avoid going to jail.

Other Executives and Further Implications

Another ex-FTX executive, Ryan Salame, received 7.5 years in prison for campaign finance charges and never accused Bankman-Fried. Caroline Ellison the ex CEO of Alameda Research also entered a guilty plea for seven charges though her sentencing date is not yet set.

The legal consequences of FTX’s downfall have been far-reaching for the parties involved. The legal proceedings that are still ongoing have revealed the extent of the fraud and the massive embezzlement of clients’ funds that led to the exchange’s collapse.

Bankman-Fried’s Family Accused of Illicit Political Donations

At the same time, new accusations have appeared concerning Sam Bankman-Fried’s family in a $100 million unlawful political contribution. The emails obtained by The Wall Street Journal show that Bankman-Fried’s parents Joseph Bankman and Barbra Fried together with his brother Gabriel Bankman-Fried were instrumental in the management and direction of these contributions, which were allegedly financed by the FTX client funds that were embezzled.

Prosecutors argue that these contributions were part of a larger influence operation in the run-up to the 2022 elections. Stanford University law professor Joe Bankman is said to have offered guidance on financial planning for political contributions, while Barbara Fried is alleged to have directed funds to progressive causes as a director of a non-profit organization. Bankman-Fried is alleged to have directed funds towards the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Former FTX executives Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh are also linked to the fraudulent straw-donor scheme to funnel the money to Republicans and Democrats. However, a representative of Joe Bankman has dismissed the allegations of his participation in any campaign finance irregularities.