#Sameer Ramani

[beardedmrbean]

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A former employee of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase pleaded guilty to insider trading by using confidential information from his company to determine which crypto assets would be listed on the exchange.

Ishan Wahi, a former Coinbase product manager, admitted on Tuesday to giving information to others about cryptocurrencies that the company was going to be listing on its platform. Wahi is the first person to plead guilty to an insider trading case involving cryptocurrency, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

"Whether it occurs in the equity markets or the crypto markets, stealing confidential business information for your own personal profit or the profit of others is a serious federal crime," said Williams.

Beginning in October 2020, Wahi worked at Coinbase as a product manager on the asset listing team. He used his job to provide confidential information about which crypto assets would be listed, to his brother Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani. Wahi and Ramani then sold the assets for a profit after they were announced.

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Prosecutors said the three men made $1.5 million in illegal profits.

Wahi faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and is set to be sentenced on May 10. Nikhil Wahi was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Ramani has also been charged.

The charge comes as cryptocurrency exchanges face increased turbulence and scrutiny following the collapse of FTX.

RELATED Report: North Korean hackers stepping up crypto attacks

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, pleaded not guilty last month to eight federal charges ranging from wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, to conspiracy by misusing customer funds as prosecutors said he used users' funds to purchase expensive real estate and to donate millions to political campaigns.

In the wake of the FTX scandal, Coinbase announced that it would lay off about 950 workers 900 and incur $149 million to $163 million in restructuring efforts, including severance packages and termination benefits, citing "market conditions" for the move.

Last month, the New York State Department of Financial Servicesordered Coinbase to pay $50 million to settle charges it failed to conduct proper background checks on new user accounts and another $50 million to bolster its compliance program.

[reyx-baron]

Abstract：The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has reached a final judgment in the insider trading case involving Sameer Ramani. Previously accused of engaging in insider trading, Ramani faced allegations related to advance knowledge of multiple announcements regarding at least nine crypto asset securities slated for trading on the Coinbase platform.

[coinatory]

SEC Settles With Coinbase Employee For Insider Trading Charges

Ishan Wahi, a former manager of Coinbase, and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, agreed to settle allegations of insider trading using information obtained from the exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated on Tuesday. The former has been forced to forfeit 10.97 ETH ($20,848.92) and 9,440 USDT, while the latter was made to forfeit $$892,500. The SEC's news release states that the brothers' fines are prejudgment interest in addition to penalties for disgorgement of illegal proceeds from their trading scheme. The brothers were prosecuted by the Department of Justice in July 2021 in the first-ever insider trading case involving cryptocurrency, along with one of their friends, Sameer Ramani. Specifically, Ishan Wahi was accused of tipping his brother and friend with information about coins that would soon be listed at

Read more on SEC Settles With Coinbase Employee For Insider Trading Charges

[mystlnewsonline]

Former Coinbase Mgr. Agree to Settle Insider Trading Charges

Former Coinbase Manager and His Brother Agree to Settle Insider Trading Charges Relating to Crypto Asset Securities Washington, DC (STL.News) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, agreed to settle charges that they engaged in insider trading through a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding at least nine crypto asset securities that would be made available for trading on the Coinbase platform.  Ishan and Nikhil Wahi each agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 and to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest.  As is often the case when a criminal court has already ordered defendants to forfeit their ill-gotten gains, the disgorgement and prejudgment interest in the SEC's case would be deemed satisfied by the orders of forfeiture of the Wahi brothers' assets in the criminal action, if approved by the court, and the SEC determined not to seek civil penalties in light of the Wahi brothers' prison sentences. The SEC's complaint, filed on July 21, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleged that, while employed at Coinbase, Ishan Wahi helped to coordinate the platform's public listing announcements that included what crypto assets would be made available for trading.  According to the complaint, Coinbase treated such information as confidential and warned its employees not to trade on the basis of, or tip others with, that information.  However, from at least June 2021 to April 2022, in breach of his duties, Ishan repeatedly tipped the timing and content of upcoming listing announcements to his brother, Nikhil Wahi, and his friend, Sameer Ramani.  Ahead of those announcements, which usually resulted in an increase in the assets' prices, Nikhil Wahi and Ramani allegedly purchased at least 25 crypto assets, at least nine of which were securities, and then typically sold them shortly after the announcements for a profit.  The Wahi brothers agreed, as part of the settlement, not to deny the SEC's allegations. "While the technologies at issue, in this case, for may be new, the conduct is not.  We allege that Ishan and Nikhil Wahi, respectively, tipped and traded securities based on material nonpublic information, and that's insider trading, pure and simple," said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "The federal securities laws do not exempt crypto asset securities from the prohibition against insider trading, nor does the SEC.  I am grateful to the SEC staff for successfully working to resolve this matter." Subject to court approval, Ishan and Nikhil Wahi consented to the entry of final judgments that permanently enjoin them from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.  In the criminal action, Ishan and Nikhil Wahi pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As a result, Ishan Wahi was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit 10.97 ether and 9,440 Tether, and Nikhil was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $892,500. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Michael Brennan, Jennie B. Krasner, and Gregory Padgett, with assistance from Patrick McCluskey, Sejal Bhakta, and Donald Battle.  The case was supervised by Paul Kim, Joseph Sansone, and Carolyn M. Welshhans.  The litigation is led by Daniel Maher and Peter Lallas and supervised by Olivia Choe.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI. SOURCE: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Read the full article

[cointahmin]

Coinbase eski yöneticisi, ABD’de görülen insider trading davasında 2 yıl mahpus cezasına çarptırıldı.Coinbase‘in eski yöneticilerinden birinin insider trading ile suçlandığı dava sonuçlandı. Hakim, yargılanan yöneticiyi iki yıl mahpus cezasına çarptırdı.Eski Yöneticinin Davasında Hakim 2 Yıl Mahpus Cezası VerdiCoinbase Küresel Inc’in eski eser müdürü olan Ishan Wahi, Salı günü ABD savcılarının kripto para ünitesini içeren insider trading davası olarak isimlendirdikleri davada iki yıl mahpus cezasına çarptırıldı. ABD Bölge Yargıcı Loretta Preska, 32 yaşındaki Ishan Wahi’nin Manhattan federal mahkemesinde cezasını açıkladı. Açıklanan ceza, hatasız olduğunu tez eden FTX kurucusu Sam Bankman-Fried aleyhindeki dava da dahil olmak üzere New York’taki ABD savcıları tarafından açılan yüksek profilli kripto para ünitesiyle ilgili birkaç davadan biriydi.Savcılar, Wahi’nin kardeşi Nikhil ve arkadaşları Sameer Ramani ile dünyanın en büyük kripto para borsalarından biri olan Coinbase’de hangi dijital varlıkların listeleneceğine dair saklı bilgileri paylaşması ile eski yöneticiyi suçladı.Bununla birlikte yönetici suçlamaların akabinde iki yıl mahpus cezasına çarptırıldı.

[etiennekissborlase]

Coinbase Ex Manager Sentenced To A 2 Year Jail Term For Insider Trading

Coinbase Ex Manager Sentenced To A 2 Year Jail Term For Insider Trading https://bitcoinist.com/coinbase-manager-sentenced-2-year-jail-term/ Ishan Wahi, a former Product Manager at Coinbase, has been sentenced to jail for financial crimes. He was arrested for insider trading in July last year. Coinbase Ex-Manager Receives Two Years Jail Sentence According to a report from Reuters, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, US District Judge Loretta Preska passed a sentence in a Manhattan federal court after Ishan Wahi pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in February. Before February, Ishan Wahi, who was reported to have provided his brother Nikhil Wahi and one Sameer Ramani with insider trading information, initially refuted the allegations thrown at him and pleaded not guilty. An earlier investigation by the New York Southern District established that on multiple occasions between June 2021 and April 2022, Ishan Wahi breached his duties of trust and confidence to Coinbase after disclosing confidential trading information that he learned in the course of his employment with the crypto exchange. In July 2022, New York prosecutors charged Ishan Wahi and his brother Nikhil alongside Sameer Ramani, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud using confidential information from Coinbase. The prosecutors had concluded that Ishan Wahi’s trading tips were instrumental to the convictions. Wahi and his accomplices made nearly $1.5 million in profits by illegally trading 55 digital assets ahead of Coinbase’s official listings and announcements. Ishan Wahi’s brother, Nikhil, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges in September 2022 and was sentenced to 10 months in prison. A Warning For Potential Bad Actors Ishan Wahi’s legal team had requested a reduced prison sentence, similar to his brother Nikhil’s. They cited previous insider trading cases that resulted in little or no jail time. However, New York prosecutors had previously recommended a sentence of over three years for Ishan. The purpose was to deter other individuals who possess confidential corporate trading information and may be tempted to misuse it. Ishan Wahi received the minimum prison sentence of two years for insider trading, despite facing a potential 20-year sentence for each count. This shows how severe insider trading is and sends a message to others considering this illegal practice. via Bitcoinist.com https://bitcoinist.com May 10, 2023 at 12:30AM

[cryptoguys657]

Former Coinbase Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading: Report

Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the largest US-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His brother did the same a few months back, receiving a 10-month prison sentence. CryptoPotato reported in July 2022 when the US Department of Justice charged Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil, and a third-party (Sameer Ramani) with insider trading for…

[cryptosecrets]

Former Coinbase Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading: Report

Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the largest US-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His brother did the same a few months back, receiving a 10-month prison sentence. CryptoPotato reported in July 2022 when the US Department of Justice charged Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil, and a third-party (Sameer Ramani) with insider trading for…

[gamekai]

Former Coinbase Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading: Report

Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the largest US-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His brother did the same a few months back, receiving a 10-month prison sentence. CryptoPotato reported in July 2022 when the US Department of Justice charged Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil, and a third-party (Sameer Ramani) with insider trading for…

[mubashirnews]

Former Coinbase Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading: Report

Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the largest US-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His brother did the same a few months back, receiving a 10-month prison sentence. CryptoPotato reported in July 2022 when the US Department of Justice charged Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil, and a third-party (Sameer Ramani) with insider trading for…

[cryptoking009]

Former Coinbase Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading: Report

Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the largest US-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His brother did the same a few months back, receiving a 10-month prison sentence. CryptoPotato reported in July 2022 when the US Department of Justice charged Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil, and a third-party (Sameer Ramani) with insider trading for…

[762175]

Former Coinbase Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading: Report

Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the largest US-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His brother did the same a few months back, receiving a 10-month prison sentence. CryptoPotato reported in July 2022 when the US Department of Justice charged Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil, and a third-party (Sameer Ramani) with insider trading for…

[blockgeni]

For executing illicit trades ahead of at least 40 different Coinbase listing announcements, Nikhil Wahi entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Earlier this week, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Nikhil Wahi to 10 months in prison, bringing an important crypto criminal case to a close. Wahi, the brother of a former Coinbase product manager, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in what the prosecution referred to as the "first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading case" last July. Wahi confessed to making a terrible mistake on Tuesday. In September, Nikhil entered a guilty plea to that charge, acknowledging that his brother Ishan Wahi had misused his authority at one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges to divulge private information about asset listings. When a coin was ready to be posted on Coinbase, Ishan would notify Nikhil. And in response, Nikhil used an anonymous wallet to purchase shares of the cryptocurrency right before they appeared on the well-known exchange. According to a statement from the New York's Southern District Attorney, Nikhil would sell the shares for a profit when the coin values ineluctably increased after listing, validated by their position on Coinbase. According to prosecuting U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Today's sentencing clearly demonstrates that the crypto markets are not lawless. Nikhil allegedly gained $892,500 in total by following his brother's illegal advice and trading in advance of 40 different Coinbase announcements. Along with the additional 10 months of imprisonment, he was also sentenced to pay back the entire amount. Nikhil Wahi told Loretta Preska, the judge, that it was something he would have to deal with indefinitely. Once his prison sentence is out, he will be deported back to India. The defense attorney for Nikhil alleged that her client's motivation was to help his Indian parents out and pay them back for paying for his university education in the United States. In connection with the insider trading scam, Ishan and a second individual, Sameer Ramani, a friend of Nikhil's, are also being prosecuted. Ishan entered a not guilty plea to his accusation and was later granted bail in July. He still has a case. Ramani, in contrast, is not in American custody and is thought to be at large. Williams, the prosecutor, stated that illicit insider trading has serious repercussions no matter where or when it takes place. However, a strong regulatory system is not made by one conviction and one sentence. This year, a crypto insider trading scam even made it to the sacred corridors of Congress. For his apparent unauthorized advanced knowledge of Let's Go Brandon Coin's failed sponsorship of NASCAR and his promotion of the meme coin, North Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn was fined $15,000 by the House Ethics Committee. Criminal accusations against Cawthorn were dropped. Additionally, fraud and scams are rampant on the blockchain, as usual. Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, will go on trial in October for fraud. The Wahi brothers' capture was largely the result of luck. Twitter user @cobie posted about a dubious Ethereum transaction. According to a story from The Verge, on April 12, @cobie tweeted, "Found an ETH address that bough hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of tokens exclusively highlighted in the Coinbase Asset Listing post roughly 24 hours before it was published." The exchange was looking into it, said Coinbase's chief security executive in response a day later. Similar abnormalities have been mentioned in other tweets, but no one has been detained as a result of those tweets. Source link

[cryptoheard]

Regulatory Clarity Is Here. What's Next for Crypto Exchanges? : ethereum

Regulatory Clarity Is Here. What’s Next for Crypto Exchanges? : ethereum

tldr; The SEC has said that under current guidelines, most cryptocurrencies could qualify as securities. In July, the regulator labeled nine cryptocurrencies as securities in an insider trading charge against former Coinbase executives Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi and his friend Sameer Ramani. INX ONE CEO Douglas Borthwick believes that regulatory clarity will offer a healthy sign of…

[reportwire]

Coinbase Is Ready To Challenge The SEC

Coinbase Is Ready To Challenge The SEC

Brian Armstrong, founder of Coinbase, photographed for Forbes by Jamel Toppin in January 2020. Jamel Toppin/The Forbes Collection What Happened The Department of Justice (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York) announced charges yesterday against Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at Coinbase, his brother, Nikhil Wahi, and a friend, Sameer Ramani. They are accused of…

[don-lichterman]

Cryptocurrency Insider Trading, Fraud in DOJ Crosshairs

Cryptocurrency Insider Trading, Fraud in DOJ Crosshairs

Prajeet Nair (@prajeetspeaks) • July 22, 2022     Cryptocurrency’s brave new world is seeing a raft of traditional criminal prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice, which charged three with insider training and successfully prosecuted a New York man for defrauding investors. See Also: OnDemand | Zero Tolerance: Controlling The Landscape Where You’ll Meet Your Adversaries Federal…