- Crypto.com thief Jatinder Singh has been sentenced to three years in prison for spending a $10 million accidental refund from the exchange
- Singh received the refund in May 2021 after an error added extra zeroes to a $100 refund
- The judge noted Singh’s actions were “situationally motivated” and considered him unlikely to re-offend but imposed a prison sentence
An Australian man who pocketed and partially spent a $10 million refund accidentally sent by Crypto.com has been sent to prison for three years. Jatinder Singh was handed the sentence after spending millions of dollars that were mistakenly refunded by the exchange after some extra zeroes were added to a $100 refund in May 2021. Judge Martine Marich commented that Singh’s actions were “entirely situationally motivated” and added that he was “most unlikely to offend again,” but still bestowed a custodial sentence on him.
$10.47 Million Refund
Singh’s legal troubles began when he attempted to deposit $100 into his Crypto.com account using his partner’s bank details. Discrepancies between account names led to the rejection of the deposit, but a Crypto.com employee mistakenly entered Singh’s partner, Thevamanogari Manivel’s, account number into the refund document, resulting in a $10.47 million refund.
This error went unnoticed until December 2021, when a Crypto.com audit revealed the issue. By then, Singh and Manivel had spent millions on properties in Melbourne and gifted AU$1 million to a friend. On Friday, Singh appeared before the Victorian County Court, having pleaded guilty to stealing AU$6.09 million. Singh claimed he believed he had won an online raffle.
Manivel was arrested in March 2022 while attempting to fly to Malaysia after transferring AU$4 million to her Malaysian bank account. Singh’s barrister argued for a lighter sentence, emphasizing that the funds were from a multinational company unaware of the loss. However, the prosecutor insisted on a jail sentence, citing the opportunistic nature of the offense and Singh’s nearly year-long remand due to flight risk concerns.
“Most Extraordinary of Circumstances”
In sentencing Singh, Judge Marich said that he continued to lack insight into his offending despite pleading guilty and attributed responsibility to Crypto.com and Commonwealth Bank, noting that he had a reduced capacity to understand complex situations and foresee the consequences of his actions as outlined in a psychological report.
Judge Marich added that Singh’s offending was “precipitated by the most extraordinary of circumstances,” adding that he “had not legal claim of right to the money and you were at least reckless.”
Singh was jailed for three years, with 361 days of presentence detention taken into consideration, and will be eligible for parole after serving two years. Manivel was sentenced to time served of 209 days and placed on an 18-month community corrections order after pleading guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime in September last year.
