WASHINGTON, D.C.— Stephen Hall, Legal Director and Securities Specialist, issued the following statement in connection with the sentencing of Nishad Singh, FTX’s former chief engineer.
“One key measure of true justice is meting out consistent sentences. Allowing Singh to go scot-free appears grossly out of line given the two-year jail sentence handed to Caroline Ellison. They were each key players in one of the worst financial frauds in history, they each cooperated, and they each showed remorse. Yet Singh walks away while Ellison goes to jail. Perhaps the details in the record of the sentencing will shed light on the court’s rationale, but on the face of it, it’s hard not to see this as a bad miscarriage of justice.
“This sentence is even more fundamentally problematic, since all of the principals in the FTX debacle deserve significant sentences, notwithstanding their contrition and cooperation. As we have argued consistently, those who lead, direct, participate in, and help carry out serious, intentional, and damaging financial crimes must be held accountable and properly punished to deter others from violating the law and to make clear that white collar criminals don’t deserve a get out of jail card.”
“Singh pled guilty to six conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws by funneling money through illegal straw donors that were far in excess of allowed limits, including hundreds of donations intended to manipulate crypto regulation and legislation. Schemes that threaten the integrity of our elections have to be viewed as especially serious violations of the law. And although Singh was helpful to the prosecution, it must be remembered that he was not a whistleblower and did not come forward until FTX had imploded.
“A strong sentence is also a matter of basic fairness. There are so many non-white-collar criminals convicted of much less significant crimes who are spending years if not decades in prisons across America. Equal justice under law means that rich, white-collar criminals should be properly punished for their crimes, too.”
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