FTX co-founder and ex-engineering chief Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal fraud charges in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, becoming the latest in Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle to admit participating in wrongdoing at the bankrupt crytocurrency exchange.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Singh pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by violating campaign finance laws.
"Today’s guilty plea underscores once again that the crimes at FTX were vast in scope and consequence," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "They rocked our financial markets with a multibillion-dollar fraud. And they corrupted our politics with tens of millions of dollars in illegal straw campaign contributions. These crimes demand swift and certain justice and that is exactly what we are seeking in the Southern District of New York."
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Bankman-Fried, who co-founded FTX and served as CEO of the exchange before its collapse in November, has pleaded not guilty to eight federal charges in connection with the downfall of his crypto empire, which included hedge fund Alamenda Research. The SDNY hit him with a fresh indictment, adding four additional charges, last week. If convicted, he faces as much as 155 years behind bars.
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Singh is the third former executive linked to a Bankman-Fried company to plead guilty for their involvement in the alleged fraud that occurred at the sister firms, following Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang.
Singh expressed remorse in the courtroom Tuesday, saying, "I am unbelievably sorry for my role in all of this."
He was released on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond and ordered to surrender all travel documents. His sentencing is scheduled for November 2024.
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Reuters contributed to this report.
