Former Coinbase Employee to Serve Two Years in Jail

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Former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi will serve two years behind bars after he took part in a crypto-based insider trading scheme.

Former Coinbase Manager Heading to Prison

As a former employee of one of the world’s largest and most renowned crypto trading platforms, Wahi gained access to specific knowledge that ultimately made him privy to price activity regarding certain coins. As the product manager, he would often learn about which coins would be listed on Coinbase and when. From there, he would pass this information along to his brother and a family friend and together, they would purchase these coins prior to their listings on Coinbase.

As soon as they earned their spots on the trading platform, the coins’ prices would go up. This would garner profit for Wahi and his associates, and they would then sell the coins, thus cashing in on their gains. This is considered an insider trading situation given that he had access to information that wouldn’t have been made available to standard traders or investors.

While in court, Wahi was joined by several family members and friends. He expressed remorse for his actions and said he felt bad about all the trouble he had caused those he cared about. In a statement, he mentioned:

I made a huge mistake that will follow me for the rest of my life.

However, his apologetic tone did nothing to lessen the disgust and rage of US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, who was quick to condemn Ishan’s actions and say that he “violated the trust” of his employer. He mentioned:

Today’s sentence should send a strong signal to all participants in the cryptocurrency markets that the laws decidedly do apply to them.

Prior to Ishan’s sentencing, his brother Nikhil pled guilty in a separate case regarding his involvement in the scheme. He was later sentenced to serve ten months in prison. The third-party friend – a man named Ramani – was able to escape prosecution by fleeing to international territory. He remains at large as of this writing.

It is estimated that Wahi and his team made off with more than $1 million in profits and traded more than 50 separate digital assets.

So Many Bad Stories!

Coinbase has been the subject of several bits of unwanted publicity over the past few months. For instance, the company was recently served with a Wells notice by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which claimed that charges were likely in the trading platform’s midst.

Coinbase executives were quick to take issue with the notice. They claimed they had met with representatives of the SEC over 30 times during a nine-year period to ensure their company’s operations were compliant. Coinbase has since filed suit against the agency.

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