Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com.
Help support the publication of case reports on MoreLaw
Date: 01-10-2023
Case Style:
United States of America v. Nikhil Wahi
Case Number: 1:22-cr-00392
Judge: Loretta A. Preska
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in New York City
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: New York City, New York criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Beginning in approximately October 2020, NIKHIL WAHI obtained from his brother, an employee of Coinbase working on highly confidential crypto asset listings, secret tips about which crypto assets would be listed on Coinbase. Using that insider information, NIKHIL WAHI used anonymous Ethereum blockchain wallets and accounts held under pseudonyms at centralized cryptocurrency exchanges to acquire those crypto assets shortly before Coinbase publicly announced that it was listing these crypto assets on its exchanges. On multiple occasions following Coinbase’s public listing announcements, NIKHIL WAHI sold the crypto assets for a profit.
* * *
In addition to the prison sentence, WAHI, 27, of Seattle, Washington, was ordered to pay $892,500 in forfeiture.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He also acknowledged the assistance of the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, as well as that of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which separately initiated civil proceedings against WAHI.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah Solowiejczyk and Nicolas Roos are in charge of the prosecution.
18:1349.F ATTEMPT AND CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT WIRE FRAUD
(1)
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 10 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: