CFO Convicted for Losing $35 Million of Company Money in Crypto Side Hustle

A Washington antheral was convicted successful a national assemblage proceedings this week for taking tens of millions of dollars from the institution helium worked for—and losing astir each of it successful a botched crypto play. 

Nevin Shetty, 41, was recovered blameworthy Thursday connected 4 counts of ligament fraud for taking and misusing immoderate $35 cardinal worthy of funds from a backstage bundle institution wherever helium worked arsenic CFO. 

Though Shetty himself drafted a blimpish concern argumentation for the startup—which called for its wealth to beryllium invested lone successful FDIC-insured treasury and slope accounts—the enforcement soon secretly moved tens of millions of dollars of institution funds to a crypto level helium himself had developed.

Shetty opted to transportation the funds to his crypto concern weeks aft receiving quality that helium would soon beryllium fto spell owed to show concerns, according to national prosecutors. 

Through his crypto platform, HighTower Treasury, Shetty invested the company’s funds successful a assortment of high-yield decentralized concern (DeFi) lending protocols. 

The program worked—at slightest initially. During the archetypal weeks of the scheme, successful April 2022, Shetty generated implicit $133,000 of nett for himself and his concern partner. 

But past crypto wintertime came. In aboriginal May 2022, the algorithmic stablecoin Terra collapsed, instantly wiping retired $60 cardinal successful worth and dragging the remainder of the crypto marketplace down with it.

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In the days that followed, Shetty’s $35 cardinal worthy of crypto investments plunged towards worthlessness. By May 13, 2022, they had fallen to near-zero value.

Shortly aft the funds were wiped out, Shetty told 2 of his colleagues astatine the bundle institution what had happened. He was promptly fired. 

A Seattle assemblage convicted Shetty connected 4 counts of ligament fraud aft 10 hours of deliberation. 

The enforcement volition beryllium sentenced successful February, and faces up to 20 years successful prison.