Lawyers representing Nishad Singh, former FTX Director of Engineering, have made a request to a federal judge to avoid sending him to prison. They submitted a document to the U.S. Southern District of New York on October 16, emphasizing Singh’s selfless nature and early cooperation in the legal proceedings against FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, and former division executive, Ryan Salame.
Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy, in February 2023. His lawyers highlighted that Singh’s involvement in the conspiracy related to the theft of FTX customer funds began only in September 2022, shortly before the exchange’s collapse. They stated that Singh acknowledged his wrongdoing from the beginning and played a crucial role in providing evidence to authorities following FTX’s bankruptcy announcement.
During Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial in October 2023, Singh testified against his former boss. Bankman-Fried was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison in March of the same year, while his former girlfriend and CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, received a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges. Ryan Salame, CEO of FTX Digital Markets, also began serving a 7.5-year prison term after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitter and conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission.
Nishad Singh’s sentencing is scheduled for October 30, with former chief technology officer Gary Wang set to be sentenced on November 20.
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