In a criminal case brought against him, Ishan Wahi, an ex-Coinbase product manager, pleaded guilty on Tuesday and admitted to wire fraud charges. The Justice Department charged Mr. Wahi, along with his brother and companion, in July for conspiring in a front-running plan of new tokens listed on Coinbase. On May 10, Wahi will face sentencing for two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The guidelines require up to 40 years in prison as his sentence; however, due to his cooperation with authorities, he is likely to receive a more lenient punishment.
Wahi Leaked Information Of Coins To Be Listed On The Exchange
Last night, Ishan Wahi entered a guilty plea that could moot any legal debates on whether or not the nine mentioned tokens are classified as securities. His lawyers submitted a motion for dismissal against these related civil charges brought by SEC. The agency declared that he disclosed information about which exact tokens would be listed on Coinbase, gaining over one million dollars from it. This case is still in progress and awaiting resolution of their motion for dismissal.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, stated: “Wahi is the first to plead guilty in an insider trading case that concerned cryptocurrency markets.” He continued to emphasize that such crime, stealing confidential business information for personal gain or others’ profit, is a federal offense whether it occurs in equity markets or crypto ones.
Coinbase Is Not Charged, and Wahi’s Lawyers Have No Comment
In response to the criminal and civil charges against Ishan Wahi, Coinbase launched an internal investigation with no incriminating evidence regarding their involvement. After Nikhil Wahi’s plea of guilty for wire fraud in September, David Miller from Greenberg Traurig had nothing to say about his client’s case.