Nishad Singh is the former Director of Engineering at FTX. He was sentenced for his part in the collapse of FTX to time served and three years of supervised released. He will not be sentenced to prison.
Singh, who testified as a witness for the government in FTX’s criminal trial of Sam Bankman Fried last fall, pleaded guilty in February 2023 to six charges including conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws.
His lawyers had asked the court earlier in the month to sentence Singh with no prison term.
“I’m not foolish enough to think there was no self interest involved, obviously,” Judge Lewis Kaplan told Singh about his cooperation. “But you did the right thing.”
Singh’s parents, fiancé and numerous extended family members and friends filled the gallery Wednesday afternoon. Kaplan addressed Singh’s parents as he handed down his sentence.
“This is purely personal,” He said. “I don’t see anything you did wrong.”
Singh’s mother muttered “thank you” Kaplan’s response.
According to court documents, the guidelines sentencing for Singh’s crimes and criminal background suggested a 75-year prison sentence. Kaplan informed Singh on Wednesday of his willingness to cooperate. “remarkable.”
In a recent letter to the Court, the Prosecutors highlighted Singh’s “exemplary cooperation” Contributing to the “successful prosecutions” Bankman-Fried, and former FTX Digital markets CEO Ryan Salame.
Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years after being convicted for two counts wire fraud, two count conspiracy to perpetrate wire fraud; one count conspiracy to fraudulently obtain securities, one charge conspiracy to commit commodities theft and one charge conspiracy to money laundering.
Salame has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts for campaign finance violations, and operating a money-transfer business without a license. Salame entered a guilty plea shortly before Bankman-Fried’s jury trial, but he did not testify for the prosecution or defense.
Singh’s sentencing came about a week after Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO was sentenced for 24 months. Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to seven federal charges and was a key witness at Bankman-Fried’s trial in 2023. The prosecution had asked that Ellison not serve any jail time as a reward for her cooperation. “extraordinary cooperation.”
Kaplan, the judge, told the court on Wednesday that Ellison was entitled to leniency because of her cooperation. But Singh disagreed. “deserved more.”
Next month, FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang will be sentenced. He also testified in Bankman-Fried’s case. Wang pleaded to four counts in 2022 of fraud and conspiracies in December 2022.
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